Photo Album
by AltairSV
Summary: Yoh, Anna, and the rest of the SK gang found a Photo Album, but they do not know who it belongs. They decided to open it to find out. Collection of one-shots about all SK characters. [Pairings are in the prologue]
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you like this fic! It's a collection of one-shots of ALL the characters in SK. Major pairing here is Yoh/Anna; other pairings are Horohoro/Tamao, Ren/Pirika, Jeanne/Lyserg. The prologue and epilogue are set in the present, and all the others are set somewhere in the past. Reviews, comments, suggestions (by review or by email), and corrections are welcome. I also acknowledge those who reviewed the story, and those who did the following things that were mentioned before this sentence.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King or its characters (but it would be a dream come true if I did own it…hehehe). I own this story and the laptop that I'm using to write this fic.

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Prologue

It was a bright sunny morning at the Asakura inn, and it was also a busy day for the Shaman King, Yoh Asakura. The 16 year old brunette called up all his friends for a party and a sleep over, because according to him, it has been so long since they have all seen each other, even though it was only a month. It has been a week since he called up all his friends, and today was the day they were all going to have the party.

"Hey Anna, don't you want to help me here?" Yoh called out to his fiancée who was watching her soaps in the other room.

"I did all the shopping yesterday and got you what you wanted, and I even cooked dinner last night…" said Anna, the blonde haired itako fiancée of Yoh. "Besides, you're the one who invited everyone here, not me, so the party is your responsibility and not mine…"

"Please Anna! I really really need your help" Yoh pleaded to his fiancée, "If you help me, then I'll…uhmm….double my training requirements next Monday…."

After a minute of silence, Anna decided to help out, "Okay Yoh, it's a deal. I'll double your training requirement next Monday, but you better not forget about it, or else…"

"Uhh, yes Anna…" Yoh sighed as he watched Anna stand up and walk out the room. 'Did I just say I'll double my training requirements? What did I get myself into? I guess I better watch what I'm say next time…hahaha'

Just when the two headed outside the room, there was a knock on the door. When Yoh opened it, it was none other than his best friend Manta, a short boy with blonde hair. Behind Manta was his other friend Ryu, who still hasn't changed his weird hairdo. Floating above Ryu was his guardian ghost, the once infamous bandit Tokageroh.

Not long before the two entered, everyone else came in one by one. First there was the blue haired pro snowboarder Ainu Horohoro, his minutian guardian ghost Corey, and his younger sister Pirika. They came back all the way from Hokkaido after they visited their parents for the week.

The next one was Tao Ren, a Chinese Shaman with a pointy violet hairdo. He was once Yoh's rival, but now he's one of Yoh's close friends. Above Ren was his guardian ghost Bason. Behind Ren was his older green haired sister Tao Jun, a doshi with Li Pai Long as her guardian ghost.

Tamao entered after Ren and Jun. She had pink hair and she knows how to do fortune telling. She brought along her two guardian ghosts, Ponchi and Konchi, a fox and a raccoon.

"Hey guys! What are you all doing in here so early? It's only 11:00" Yoh asked his friends who entered the house one by one.

"Well I've got nothing to do for the morning" Horohoro said, "…so I said to myself, why not go to Yoh's house right now instead, he won't mind if I was early." Apparently, everyone had the same reason as well.

Soon after, the rest of the gang entered. Chocolove and Lyserg went in the house together with their guardian ghosts; and the last ones were Jeanne and Faust.

"I guess everyone's here already!" Yoh grinned as he greeted all his friends. "The only one who's not here is Hao!"

"What! You invited him too!' Horohoro yelled at Yoh before Pirika pulled his brother's ear for him to shut up.

"Yeah of course! We're all cool with him, right? You all said that in front of him and each other" Yoh said smiling.

"You're right, but why's he still not here?" Ren asked.

"I guess he must be somewhere taking a nap, that's what I'd be doing if I were trying to find this place" Yoh laughed.

Everyone was in the inn excluding Hao, so they decided to start the party anyway; they thought that he'll probably show up anytime soon. They had a lot of food on the table, and most of them were junk food, which Anna usually didn't allow; but surprisingly, Yoh was able to convince her to let them have junk food.

"Okay everybody! Use green, pink, and yellow in a sentence!" Chocolove asked everyone, but everyone else just stared at him. "Wanna hear my sentence? Here is how it goes…ahem…When the phone goes 'green green', I pink up the phone and say 'yellow'!"

Ren and Horohoro picked up Chocolove and threw him to the wall, "That was the most annoying and lamest joke that I've ever heard!"

Everyone seemed to have a good time, although there were little arguments in between; they all had a good laugh. They were all having such a good time, that they didn't notice Anna leave the room, all except for Yoh. Anna went into her room and sighed, "This is going to be a very long day…what are you doing here Yoh!"

"Hey what's the matter?" Yoh asked when he entered Anna's room.

"I just want to be alone for a minute, too much noise…" Anna answered.

"Oh okay…so what are you going to do?" Yoh asked her.

Anna looked at the book shelf to see if she could find anything to read, but when she looked at the books an unfamiliar thick blue book caught her eye. She pulled it out and scanned the cover, "I've never seen this book before…what is it?"

"Huh? Why don't we open it?" Yoh said as he flipped the book cover. "It looks like a photo album…I didn't know you kept pictures Anna!"

"I don't…what is this?" Anna said as she looked at the book.

Meanwhile, back at the room where everyone else was…

"Hey! Where are Yoh and Anna?" Manta asked as everyone else looked around the room.

"Yes, I have noticed that it was not that noisy as it was earlier…" Ren said.

"Where do you think they are?" Tamao asked.

"They're probably doing something together…" Horohoro said with a mischievous look on his face, "Let's find out what they're up to! I bet we'll see something interesting!"

Everyone left the room to search the place for Yoh and Anna, and they all ended up in the hall where Anna's room was, they peeked in and saw Yoh and Anna sitting next to each other looking at something.

"This is too good to be true!" Horohoro tried to hold his laughter, while Ren assisted him by covering his mouth. Tamao slightly blushed with a slight smile on their face, and the others grinned mischievously.

"What are you guys doing behind my door!" Anna asked without turning around, but Yoh did.

"Uhmm…nothing, nothing…sorry to disturb you guys!" Tamato apologized.

"Hey, don't worry, we were just wondering who's photo album is this" Yoh turned to his friends, but all of them just shook their heads. "So, who do you think owns it?"

"Why don't we open it?" Lyserg suggested, "Maybe we'll find out who owns it"

"Why not?" Yoh took the blank page and flipped it to the next page, everyone else looked at the pictures, thinking to themselves that it somewhat looks familiar.

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Yey! Finally finished the prologue that I did not really want to do, but at the same time wanted to do (sounds kinda confusing dosen't it?). Anyway, I liked the last sentence because it officially starts the first chapter to my story! Yahoo! Hope you guys didn't get bored reading the prologue, I know I did! If I missed out any of the characters (excluding Silva) just tell me. The next chapter's more exiting than this, so keep reading!


	2. Truth or Dare

First chapter! Yey! This was the very first thing that came into my mind, and after that, more one shot stories came into my mind, so I decided to put all of them in one story.

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Page 1: Truth or Dare

It was a hot summer afternoon in the inn. Everyone was there, but there was nothing to do at that time. The house was spotless and the shopping has been done, Yoh completed all his trainings, and Anna couldn't think of anything useful for them to do around the house since they already did all of it. Anna was on the table watching a rerun of her show, Yoh was staring at the wall listening to his CDs, Ren was drinking a bottle milk he found in the fridge, Horohoro was lying down staring at the wall, Manta was slowly falling asleep on the table, Pirika and Tamao were watching along with Anna, although they've already seen the show already.

"I'm so bored! Isn't there anything interesting we could do right now!" Horohoro said as he ruffled his hair.

"We know that you're bored, you've said so yourself for already 10 times!" Ren finished drinking his milk and put it down on the table.

"Yeah I know, but it's so hot and so boring! At least I get to shred slopes at home, and it's even cold back there!"

"Will you shut up already!" Ren threw his empty bottle at Horohoro and hit him directly at the head.

"What was that for!" Horohoro rubbed the sore spot on his forehead.

"That was for being really annoying!"

"What! You know what I think! I think that…"

"You think that I'm what!" Ren asked while putting his elbow the table waiting for a reply.

"I think that we should play truth or dare!" Horohoro said happily, while everyone else looked at him.

"I am not going to play that ridiculous game!" Ren said.

"Come on! I know we're all bored, and it's your bottle that you threw to me that gave me that idea!" Horohoro said holding up the bottle.

"Yeah, maybe it better for us to play rather than sit around all day doing nothing" Yoh placed his headphones behind his ears and smiled lazily.

Everyone gathered around in a circle and place the bottle in the middle after convincing Ren to play.

"Come on Anna, don't you want to play?" Yoh asked his fiancée

"No. I'd rather watch this boring show rather than play that game" Anna said without taking her eyes off the T.V.

"Please Anna! It'll be fun if all of us are in it!" Yoh begged and pleaded for Anna to join.

Anna rolled her eyes and turned the T.V. off, "Fine, just stop whining…"

Manta took the bottle and spun it around. It kept spinning and spinning, until it slowed down and stopped at Tamao, "Okay Tamao, truth or dare?"

"Uhmm…ahhh…truth…"Tamao said with a shade of pink forming in her cheeks.

"Tell us, who is the person that you love?" Manta asked.

The question made her gulp and made her cheeks turn for pink to rosy red. She was looking down at her lap while all the others were just staring at her waiting for an answer.

"The…the…thepersonthatiloveisHorohoro!" Tamao said in a fast tone. Realizing that the others did understand what she said, she repeated it again in a slower manner than before. The others giggled, and smirked at Horohoro whose cheeks were as red as Tamao's. "Okay then, it's my turn…"

Tamao spun the bottle and it stopped at Pirika, who said that she'll do a dare.

"Okay Pirika, I dare you to sing 'Trust You'!" Tamao said. Everyone just sweat dropped, because Tamao expected Pirika not to like singing, but this was in fact the opposite of what she wanted. Pirika sang every single line to that song so perfectly, that she would have had a perfect score if they were singing karaoke.

"Okay! My turn!" Pirika took the bottle form Tamao and spun it in the middle of the circle until it slowed down a bit. "Okay Anna! Truth or dare!"

"Dare…" Anna said after thinking about it for a second or two.

"I dare you…to kiss Yoh!" Pirika giggled at what she said, and so did everyone else.

"Is that it?" Anna asked the nodding and giggling Pirika. Anna held Yoh's shoulder and pulled him towards her a bit, and when he was close enough, she gently placed her lips on Yoh's lips, and after a little while, broke it up and gently pushed Yoh back to his old place. Yoh's cheeks turned slightly red while Anna's cheeks just stayed the same color, as if it wasn't a big deal. Anna knew how to hide and control her expressions really well. The others smiled and stared at the two, and Anna just got the bottle and started spinning it until it stopped and pointed towards Yoh. "Truth or dare?"

"Uhh, dare!" Yoh said, not noticing what he just said. 'Oops, why did I say dare!'

"Okay…" Anna said, "I dare you to run around the block 50 times in five minutes!"

"WHAT!" was all that everyone could say.

"You can't be serious! It takes me 20 minutes just to do that!" Yoh said in protest.

"If you don't complete this dare, then I'll triple your training schedule tomorrow! One…two…three…" Anna began counting, and Yoh immediately rushed outside the door to start the dare. After 4 minutes and 55 seconds, Yoh opened the door, went into the room where everyone was, and collapsed on the floor panting. "Looks like you've finished earlier than the expected time Yoh"

"Yeah…pant…I can't believe…pant…I did that…pant…in just 5 minutes!" Yoh said.

"Of course…because you weren't wearing the weights that you usually wear every time you go jogging" Anna said.

"Okay then, my turn!" he smiled as he spun the bottle around and it stopped at Horohoro. "Okay Horo, truth or dare?"

"Dare of course!" Horohoro said in confidence.

Yoh thought about it for awhile, and got a really good idea for his dare. He looked at Anna, who knew what he was thinking. She nodded, and he looked at Manta, who also nodded, having an idea of what Yoh is thinking. "Horohoro, I dare you, to…kiss Tao Ren!"

"WWHHHAATTTT?" Both Ren and Horohoro's jaws dropped when they heard the dare, while everyone else just started laughing.

"You can't be serious dude!" Horohoro said waving his arms frantically in protest.

"I am going to kill you so badly that you'd wish you've never been born!" Ren said banging his fist on the wall.

"I'm serious alright!" Yoh said grinning. "Let's just say it's for making Anna and I kiss in public!"

"Come on Yoh, get over it, we're going to do it again anyway when we get married…" Anna said calmly.

"I don't mind sharing my first kiss with a girl…but I'm definitely not sharing my first kiss with a boy!" Horohoro shouted in protest.

"Come on big brother…you already had your first kiss with a girl!" Pirika laughed while receiving an 'I told you not to tell anyone' look from her brother.

"There's no way we're doing this dare!" Ren and Horohoro said in unison.

"Oh just get it over with already!" the irritated and impatient Anna took the heads of Ren and Horohoro, forcibly made them clash, making sure that both their lips touched each other. Afterwards, she pulled them apart again before letting go of both their heads. "Now that wasn't too bad was it?"

At this point everyone was laughing so hard, even Bason and Corey, and excluding Anna, who was just smirking at the two boys who were frozen stiff. After awhile, both of them stood up at the same time and raced to the sink, after getting a glass full of water. They drank their glasses of water, gargled, and rinsed at the same time.

"I need a toothbrush and mouthwash! Quickly! Before I get mouth fungi!" Horohoro shouted.

"I need a disinfectant! Now! Before I get rabies!" Ren yelled as everyone just continued laughing really hard.

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"Hey! Who took this picture!" Horohoro and Ren yelled together. Everyone just laughed and smirked at the two boys.

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So guys, how do you like it? By the way, if you see an "xxxx" divider after the story, it means it jumped back to the present, where everyone else is still looking at the album. The "ooo" divider marks the beginning and end of the story. Submit reviews, comments, suggestions, and other stuff which you would like to submit! No flames please.


	3. Clash of Weapons

Thanks for your support everyone! I want to say thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed for the last chapter.

JiyuunaTamashii: Thanks so much for the suggestion, I'm gonna try writing one like that. But you might be seeing it in the later chapters cause I already planned some stories. But don't worry; you'll definitely a chapter of them playing tennis.

AngelicRaven, yohanna, xaArzie, OtakuNekoGirl, Vash, bluedigimon, blonde itako, Nyago, Remedyththief, and twentyone21: Hey there! I'm glad you liked my story! I'll be updating soon cause I've got a lot of one-shots planned already, including JiyuunaTamashii's suggestion.

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Page 2: Clash of Weapons

The field around them turned from a peaceful forest, to a violent battle ground. The birds stopped chirping and flew away as soon as possible, the fishes in the near-by lake all swam away, all the non-flying creatures hid inside the trees, burrowed underground, and/or ran away from the forest to avoid being involve in a battle between two Shamans. The wind blew wildly and grey clouds suddenly covered the sky, making the sun disappear. A drizzle came in as the two Shamans looked at each other, gripping their weapons as tight as they can, while their guardian ghosts floated above them, getting ready to fight.

"I can't believe we're actually doing it again…" the blue haired Shaman held on to his snowboard and attached it to his right arm.

"Yes, I can't believe it either, but it's the only way! The only way to settle the score…" the Chinese Shaman pulled out his Kwan Do and held it with his right hand.

"We don't have to do this Ren…just quit right now before both of us gets hurt…" said the ainu.

"I'm really sorry to disappoint you Horohoro, but I'm not backing out, I think you're the one who should back out…" Tao Ren planted his weapon on the ground.

"To bad then, I guess this really is the only way we could ever settle things…" Horohoro formed his fighting stance, seeing that they both have to do this battle. "Corey! Spirit Form! Into the snowboard!" Corey, a minutian entered his master's weapon.

"Bason! Spirit Form! Into the Kwan Do!" Ren held Bason, his Chinese warrior guardian ghost, and made him merge with his weapon.

"Lets go!" Horohoro was the first to attack; he jumped in the air, flipped once, and smashed his snowboard at Ren. He managed to block, but he still received a little damage from the attack. When Horohoro landed from his little stunt, it gave Ren the opportunity to counter attack him. Ren attacked upwards, making Horohoro trip and fall down. But Ren was not finished just yet, he attacked upwards again and again, turning Horohoro into a human volley ball. Ren finally missed Horohoro, making him land safetly.

Horohoro rolled towards Ren while he was still down to make a getting up attack; it worked perfectly because Ren did not expect this move and he was unable to guard. Now that Horohoro was up, Ren began to guard again, expecting to counter attack after Horohoro's last combo hit. Horohoro knew Ren's strategy, so he ran towards him, grabbed him, and tossed him to the other side.

"I guess I have to admit, you've gotten stronger and smarter…" Ren said while he was still lying down.

"Same goes to you too Ren, but I don't plan on losing this fight!" Horohoro ran towards Ren to give him a diving attack, but just before Horohoro jumped, Ren rolled towards him and did a getting up attack. "Hey! That was my move!"

"Well too bad, I guess I learned how to do that thanks to my observation skills!" Ren jumped back because his opponent launched an attack. When Ren landed on the ground, Horohoro suddenly thrusted his snowboard on the ground, making icicles appear above the ground, advancing towards Ren. Tried to jump, but it was too late, the attack hit him, but it was not enough to knock him off the ground.

Ren angrily charged towards Horohoro and tried to make a charging attack, but Horohoro just blocked it. Ren was about to do a four attack combo, but he suddenly realized, that after his fourth attack, Horohoro will try to counter attack. He stopped when he was at his second attack, and attacked Horohoro downwards from the ground, and it successfully broke his guard. Horohoro was surprised that his guard was broken, and to make things worse, Ren suddenly used Rapid Combo, giving Horohoro a great deal of damage after receiving more than a thousand jabs from Ren's Kwan Do.

"Two can play it that game!" Horohoro did the same thing, he attack downwards and broke Ren's guard, and afterwards launched a very powerful Nipopo punch at Ren.

"I'm gonna finish you off!" Ren made another attempt to use an attack that would break Horohoro's guard, but this method of attack was slow for both players, so Horohoro took the chance to attack him first before he attempted this attack. "Looks like you've learned a new trick!"

Horohoro just smiled and guarded again, because he knew that if Ren tried to break his guard, he'll just attack him before Ren does. But Ren was not using a guard break attack, and to Horohoro, it seems as if Ren is doing a four attack combo. Horohoro waited for Ren to finish his fourth attack, and when he did, Horohoro went straight to offensive mode, and was ready to attack Ren. But unexpectedly, Ren continued his combo with a lower attack, which made Horohoro fly from the ground; when Horohoro was in the air; Ren performed an uppercut, making it a six hit combo.

When Horohoro was on the ground, he quickly performed a getting up attack that Ren was unable to block because he was just beginning to land.

"Time to finish this!" Horohoro backed away from Ren before he had the chance to attack him. "NOW COREY! AVALANCHE!"

A big pile of snow that was as big as a tidal wave, headed towards Ren. Horohoro was surfing on top of the snow tidal wave that was already above Ren. The snow tidal wave completely buried Ren beneath it, and with that, Horohoro was sure of his victory. Horohoro suddenly heard a sound in the pile of snow, so he turned around, only to see Ren jump out of the snow. "What! You survived that! Impossible!"

"Well, now it's my turn; and I am sure this attack will finish you once and for all!" Ren jumped again, and while in mid air, he summoned all his furyoku to make one final move. "BASON! GOLDEN THUNDER!"

Sharp weapons similar to Ren's Kwan Do started sprouting out of the ground rapidly. The attack covered the ground with nothing but sharp objects, which soon disappeard after Ren finished his special move. "Too bad, I guess he could not survive my special attack…"

"Oh yeah! Then why am I still standing!" as the dust cleared, Ren saw Horohoro still standing.

Both Shamans were trying their best to stand up. They both have drained their furyoku, and they're almost out of energy. The battle field was completely covered in snow and weapons, nothing and no one could have survived, no one except for Horohoro and Tao Ren.

"Looks like this last attack will determine who the winner is!" said Ren, who was using his Kwan Do for support.

"I guess you're right, and even if you guard, you can't block the last attack…" Horohoro said as he picked up his snowboard, which he used for support to stand.

The two Shamans stood up and looked at each other fiercely and seriously; their last attack will determine either their victory or defeat. They both took and step forward, and began running towards each other, determined and confident. Their weapons pointing towards each other, both were ready to attack, as they got nearer and nearer to each other, they launched their attack, and the last one who will be standing is…

BBBBZZZZZTTTTTTT…..

"What? What? No this can't be! What happened!" Ren shouted as he was tapping the buttons to his controller.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Horohoro yelled as he grabbed his head and shouted frantically.

"Looks like there's a black out…" Yoh said as he looked outside the window. It was raining cats and dogs out there, a black out was expected in this kind of stormy weather.

"I was about to win! Then there was suddenly a black out!" Horohoro shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You were about to win? Please…I obviously attacked you first!" Ren said.

"Come on guys, it's only a game…" said Manta. "If I knew you guys were going to take this game way too seriously, then I should not have brought the Playstation 2 over here."

"Shorty here's right you know; it's only a stupid game…" Anna said as he walked out of the living room and into her room.

"Only a game! The score was tied, and we had to hold a tie breaker round!" Horohoro slammed the controller to the floor.

"You guys didn't even let us use it!" said Yoh, Manta, Ryo, and Chocolove. The two guys ignored it and started exchanging 'I was supposed to win' words with each other.

"You wanna continue the fight here?" Ren shouted aggresivelyas he pecked Horohoro using his hair.

"You're on!" Horohoro dove towards Ren, and soon after, there was a rumble in the living room.

"Hey guys stop it! Anna might come down here and break your arms and legs and throw us all out afterwards!" Yoh said trying to stop them to fight, but the two ignored them and pushed aside any person who came close to them.

"What is going on in here?" Anna suddenly entered the room, and everyone else stopped what they're doing and gulped. "I left the room for just one minute, and you guys have already turned this room into a wrestling arena!"

Horohoro and Ren gulped, and when one of them stood up, they accidentally grabbed on to the other one, causing both of them to fall, and causing both of them to land on the Playstation 2.

"MY PLAYSTATION 2!" Manta was practically screaming his head off while Horohoro and Ren tried to untangle themselves from the controllers' wires.

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"Um…Manta, sorry about the Playstation 2…" Horohoro and Ren apologized to Manta, who was still staring at the picture of Horohoro and Ren landing on the Playstation 2.

"It's okay guys, it's still being repaired…but you two are going to pay for the repair bills…"

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Hey guys! Did you like it? This scenario actually happened with me, my brother, and my cousins who were staying overnight at our house. The 'turning the room into a wrestling arena' part didn't happen after the game ended, but it did happen in another scenario different from this one. Instead of the blackout, one of my cousins accidentally tripped on the wire, therefore ending the game in a tie between my other cousin and me; and my unfortunate cousin ended up being yelled at by me and everyone else in the room (we were actually six in the room including me). It wasn't raining cats and dogs, but there was a drizzle. And lastly, nobody busted or fell on top of the playstation 2(thank goodness…). So I thought, why not record the moment by writing it down as a fic? We had a lot of good laughs at that time and enjoyed it. I hope you guys enjoyed it too! By the way, the game that was being played was Shaman King: Power of Spirits (I dunno how Manta got it…maybe he programmed it and made it himself?)


	4. Red Fox

Wow! I got reviews! Thanks guys, glad you liked the story. There's a lot of reviewers, and I can't mention all of them in this chap, so I'll just do that in the next chap. This is the most chapter where I got a lot of reviews, and I want to thank Andrea Nefisto for correcting me at the photo part of this chapter, thanks!

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Page 3: Red Fox

Yoh stretched out his arms after yawning and leaned on a tree. He sat down and looked at the blue sky, "Doesn't the sky look nice today Amidamaru? The clouds have a lot of shapes today; and look…I see a cloud that looks like a cat."

"Yes, it looks nice when you're watching it from here" the samurai guardian ghost looked up at the sky along with his master. "Where are Horohoro, Manta, Tamao, and Ren? They were supposed to be here five minutes ago to talk about your group homework."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when they heard a rustle in the bushes. They turned around to see who was making the noise, but there was nobody there, so it meant that somebody was hiding behind the bushes. Yoh walked towards the bushes to inspect it, and when he was near, the rustle became softer, and a little creature suddenly poked his head out of the bushes.

"Hey look Amidamaru! It's a cute fox!" Yoh smiled as the fox retreated to the bushes again.

"What a cute fox; but what is it doing in here? I don't recall foxes living in Funbari…" Amidamaru said.

"Yeah you're right, but it looks so cute! Come here little fox…" Yoh held out one of his hands and smiled. The fox poked his head out of the bushes again, and this time slowly walked towards Yoh hand. The fox sniffed his hand a bit and rubbed its head against it. "Hey, I think he likes me!"

Not so soon after, Horohoro, Manta, Ren, and Tamao arrived at monument hill, "Sorry we're late dude, I had to buy something from the store."

"Hey guys! Don't worry, you're not that late anyways…" Yoh smiled and continued petting the fox.

"Hey Yoh, that's a cute fox, where'd you find him? Is he yours?" Manta asked.

"I just found awhile ago in the bushes, isn't he cute?" Yoh said petting the fox's head.

"It guess does look kinda cute…" Ren said looking at the fox. "But why is there a fox here in Funbari?"

"I don't know…he probably got tired of living in the forest, so he walked all the way here!" Yoh joked.

"Aww…the fox looks sooooo cute! Come here little dude…" Horohoro reached out his hand to the fox, and the fox approached him, allowing himself to be cuddled by the ainu.

"So Yoh, are you going to give him a name?" Manta asked Yoh as he slowly patted the fox.

"Hey! I think you should name it Konchi!" Tamao's fox guardian ghost appeared beside her grinning.

"No way man, hmm…how about, fluffy?" stated Horohoro. "The name 'Konchi' is already taken"

"You know, that sounds more like a name of a cat. Why not name it snowball?" Ren suggested.

"Um Ren, he doesn't look like a snowball, he's not even white, it's orange. I know, why not Foxtrot?" Manta said.

"I don't think a dance name suits him, so how about Foxy?" Tamao recommended, ignoring Konchi's pleading to make the fox's name be 'Konchi'.

"That's just fox with a 'y' at the end. I think we should just let Yoh name it, after all, he's the one who found it" said Ren.

After a minute of thinking, Yoh finally decided, "I know, let's name him Kurt!"

"That sounds kinda plain, but at least the name fits him" Ren rubbed the fox that Yoh was holding.

Everyone decided on the name and started walking to Yoh's house. On their way there they kept talking about Kurt and how cute he was, and they sometimes talked about their group homework, but barely.

"By the way, won't Anna get mad if you bring Kurt home?" Tamao asked Yoh who was holding a sleeping Kurt in his hands.

"We won't know until we find out…"Yoh opened the door to the house and the rest followed him inside to the living room where Anna was. "Hey Anna, I'm home…"

Anna simply nodded without taking her eyes off the T.V. She knew that Yoh knew that it was his turn to cook dinner, so he didn't need to tell him. Anna suddenly realized that there was something else in the room other than Yoh, Manta, Ren, Tamao, and Horohoro; and it was not human. When she turned her head around, she saw Yoh holding a fox that just woke up from its sleep. "What is that thing doing in here!"

Horohoro, Manta, Tamao, and Ren all gave Yoh a 'we told you she would not like it' look. Anna stood up, crossing her arms and waiting for an answer, "Well!"

"You see Anna…" Yoh explained to her. "I found him on monument hill, and I decided to keep him, since he was all alone there."

"I am not allowing that fox to stay here! What is it doing here in Funbari anyways?" Anna angrily asked Yoh.

"Come on Anna, can't we keep him? He's so cute! I promise I'll take care of him!" Yoh said as he and the others pleaded to Anna.

"I said 'NO!' I don't want any animal to step foot in this house! Especially foxes that aren't even supposed to be in this part of Japan!" Anna yelled.

"Yes Anna, I'll get rid of it later when we're done talking about our group homework…" Yoh sighed in defeat.

"No! I want it out of here now!" Anna yelled pointing towards the door. "If you want to get rid of that fox later, then I suggest you talk about your group homework in the back yard!"

"Yes Anna…" everyone left the house and went to the back yard to talk about their homework.

Anna sat down on the couch and switched the channels, "Hmph, I hate foxes…achooo!"

Meanwhile in the backyard, everyone finished talking about the school homework. Now they were talking about how to convince Anna to keep Kurt.

"Man, the girl's impossible! There's no way we can keep Kurt now!" Horohoro said sadly as he watched Kurt play with his tail.

"Yeah, and I know none of you can take Kurt home because of your…different reasons" Yoh petted the fox. "So I was thinking, why not just tell Anna that I got rid of Kurt, and secretly keep Kurt in my room?"

"You mean tell me you're gonna lie TO The Anna Kyoyama?" Manta said nervously. "You're gonna have a tough time there Yoh. She always manages to find out stuff that you're keeping from her…"

"Don't worry! It'll all work out! I'm gonna make sure that she'll never ever find Kurt!" Yoh said as he hid Kurt in his shirt and kept him in his room.

Dinner was awfully quiet tonight, Horohoro and Ren weren't arguing, and Yoh and Manta weren't talking that much. Anna decided to break the silence, "So did you get rid of the fox Yoh?"

"Um…yes. I…let him loose in the streets!" Yoh lied to Anna, but just in case she wanted to peek in his mind, Yoh kept thinking of the words, 'I let him loose on the street'. Everyone else thought of the same thing and kept thinking the same words that Yoh was thinking of. Their attempt to hide this secret made Anna even more suspicious, but she decided not to show it just yet. After everyone ate, Horohoro, Ren, and Manta went home, but not before washing the dishes. When Anna left the room, Tamao grabbed some of the left over rice and meat and gave it to Yoh so that he can give it to Kurt. Yoh took the food and quietly sneaked into his room, little did he know that Anna was watching him, and this made her even more suspicious. After awhile, everyone went to bed after taking a bath and finishing their homework which was due on Monday.

Anna left her room and slowly opened the door to Yoh's room. Yoh was sleeping peacefully on his futon, and beside him was the fox that she told him to get rid of. "I knew it…" Anna exited the room and went inside her own room. "That idiot, I told him to get rid of that fox…achoo!"

The next morning…

"Yawn! Morning everyone!" Yoh said happily as he walked out of his room. "Morning Anna! Morning Tamao! Did you guys have a good sleep?"

Anna just walked past them while Tamao and Yoh just looked at her. "Two hundred laps around the neighborhood…"

"What!" Yoh dropped his jaw. "But it was only one hundred yesterday!"

"I doubled your training for today since you didn't get rid of that fox!" Anna yelled as she went to the kitchen. Yoh and Tamao just looked at each other, and then looked at Anna. 'How did she find out?'

Anna sat on the chair and rested her arm on the table, while Yoh and Tamao peeked in the kitchen and slowly went inside with their heads bowed down. Yoh sat down the chair opposite of Anna, still bowing down his head; Tamao proceeded to the sink to wash her hands and prepare breakfast. "Look Anna, I'm really really sorry that I didn't get rid of the fox." Anna just closed her eyes, not saying a word. "Come on Anna, I'm sorry I lied to you, it's just that…this poor little fox doesn't have a home. It just doesn't feel right if I just abandon it!"

Not a single word came out of Anna's mouth. Tamao served breakfast and everyone ate quietly, not looking at the other person's eyes. Anna was the first to finish her food; she put her plate in the sink and started walking out of the kitchen, both Yoh and Tamao just watched her leave. "Quadruple your training tomorrow, and tie that fox in a leash out there in the backyard. I'll not be responsible for that fox of yours, and it better not go inside this house…"

A smile formed in Yoh and Tamao's face when Anna said those words. Anna didn't need to tell them directly that they can keep Kurt; she knew that Yoh would never get rid of that fox, no matter how many times she'll multiply Yoh's training.

Tamao and Yoh finished washing the dishes and took all the leftovers which were to be given to Kurt. Before Yoh entered his own room to feed Kurt, he went in to Anna's room. "Hey Anna…thanks for letting me keep him. I promise to take full responsibility of Kurt!" Anna simply nodded at the smiling Yoh.

Later that afternoon…

"Really? Does that mean you get to keep him! That's so cool!" Horohoro said happily jumping up and down.

"Yes, I can't believe you were actually able to convince her…" Ren said as he petted Kurt.

"Yeah, thanks Anna!" Yoh said cheerfully to Anna.

"No problem…achoo!" Anna stood up to leave the room.

"Hey Anna, are you sick or something? You've been sneezing a lot recently…" Yoh said.

"I'm not sick…achoo…it's just dusty in here; so your guys better clean this place up when I get back to this room…achoo!" With that, Anna left the room after receiving a lot of stares from Yoh's friends.

One hour later…

"Hey Anna, we're going to the library to do some research" Yoh said as he started putting on his headphones. "Oh, and I already tied Kurt outside…"

"Okay…" Anna continued watching her soaps, as the guys left the house.

"Do you think Anna's sick Yoh?" Manta asked as he closed the door to the house.

"Yeah I think so, she's been sneezing a lot recently. Do you think she caught a cold?" Yoh asked as they walked towards the library.

"I don't think so" answered Horohoro. "Anna and common colds just don't mix…"

Back in the house…

Anna got tired of watching her soaps, and there was nothing good on T.V. today, so she decided to read a book. While reading the book, she began to think if what she did was the right thing. 'Maybe Yoh will learn how to be a responsible parent if he continues taking care of that fox. Maybe it won't be that bad having that fox around…' "Achoo!"

Anna looked around and closed her book, she knew that the fox was near, she could feel it… "ACHOO!"

And there it was, the fox was standing in front of the entrance to her room, and it went in. Kurt sat down and looked up at Anna, and Anna was just slowly backing away from the fox.

"What are you doing here you pesky fox!" Anna slowly backed away again even further from the fox. "I told Yoh to tie you up in the backyard with a leash…achoo!" Anna looked at Kurt's collar, and she saw the leash which was chewed off. "Next time, I'm gonna tell Yoh to tie you to a chain and/or put you in a cage…achoo!" Kurt was clueless, and he just looked at Anna; he walked towards her to find out what she is doing, but Anna just backed away even more. "Get away from me you…achoo…stupid fox! ACHOO!" Kurt just stopped at his tracks and sat down, as if he understood what Anna said. "OUT!" Kurt just yawned and remained in his place, playing with his own tail. Anna could not leave the room since the fox was near the door. "If you won't leave, then I'll leave! ACHOO!" Anna opened the window, and looked down. "Just my luck…my room just had to be in the second floor…ACHOO!" She looked at the fox one more time, who was just sitting there looking at her innocently. "What do you want! ACHOO!" Kurt licked his paws, then his lips before opening his mouth very wide.

"I don't have any food! ACHOO" Anna said to Kurt. "What do you think my room is! Achoo! A restaurant! Achoo!" Kurt looked at her as if he understood Anna; he walked towards the corner of Anna's room, leaving the door clear of himself. "You seem to understand what I say…achoo…but you're still not allowed to stay inside the house! Achoo! Especially not in my room! Achoo!" Kurt licked his paws and his lips, repeating the same action which meant 'I'm hungry'

Anna sighed and left the room, trying to stay as far away from the fox as possible. She went to the kitchen to check what's in the fridge; she took out some of the leftovers from awhile ago and heated it up a bit in the microwave. She put the food on the bowl and went outside; she then placed the bowl under the tree where Kurt was tied to before. "Hey fox, if you want your food go to the backyard now!" Anna tried calling Kurt more than thrice, but he didn't show up. "Kurt! If you're not going down here, then I'm throwing away your food!" Kurt immediately poked his head out the window and saw the food and a very pissed Anna. He jumped off the window; he forgot that he was on the second floor. "You idiot!" Anna ran towards the fox and made it just in time to catch Kurt. Realizing that she was holding Kurt, she immediately dropped him; Kurt ran towards his dish bowl and ate as if nothing happened just awhile ago.

"You better stay out there! Achoo! Or else!" with that, Anna went inside the house and slammed the sliding door shut.

Meanwhile in the library…

"Hey Yoh, wake up…" whispered Manta as he shook Yoh gently.

"Come on man, wake up. You're supposed to help us do our research, not sleep!" whispered Horohoro while shaking Yoh roughly.

"Hey Yoh…if you don't wake up soon, I'll tell Anna that you skipped 5 laps this morning…" Yoh jerked his head up at what Ren said. 'I knew that would work…'

"It's boring doing research…yawn…" Yoh stretched his arms upwards. "I wonder how are Kurt and Anna doing right now…"

"I think it's starting to rain…" Tamao looked outside the window, and it was just drizzling, but it became stronger. "Can I ask you guys something? How are we going to get home without any umbrellas?"

"Oops, looks like all of us forgot to bring an umbrella…hahaha" Yoh laughed while the others either sweat dropped or slapped their heads.

"We'll just have to stay here till the rain stops then…" Manta said as he began to open another book. "But it looks like it'll be quite awhile before the rain stops…"

"Oh no, I left Kurt outside…in the rain!" Yoh suddenly remembered.

"Poor little fox…" Horohoro said. "Hey, I think we should head for home already. Anna might've forgotten that Kurt's in the backyard…"

"Yeah you're right, but how will we get there without an umbrella?" Ren asked.

Yoh stood up and headed towards the exit, "Who said it was impossible to get home with out an umbrella?"

"Are you crazy? Out there in that rain?" Ren asked Yoh.

"It would take more than that to stop me; I think Anna's training is worse than this rain anyways…"

"I guess you're right. After all, I'm a shaman, and I can withstand anything!" Horohoro said.

"Yeah right, let's see who can get home first without catching a cold" everyone exited the library and ran towards the inn which was four blocks away.

Back in the inn…

'They rain looks really strong right now…' Anna continued reading her book, but she was interrupted by a whining sound that came from outside. When she opened the window, she saw Kurt out there; he was running around looking for a place to stay away from the rain, the tree didn't help him cover himself from the rain. 'Why doesn't he just go to the backyard door, at least it has a roof…' She then remembered what she said to Kurt, she said that he wasn't allowed to step foot in the house. 'Looks like the fox's smart, but it's too obedient…'

Anna stood up and exited her room; she opened the backyard door and called the fox, "Hey! Come in right now…" Kurt just stood there near the tree shivering. "If you don't come in right now, I'm gonna make Yoh sleep out there tonight!" Kurt immediately obeyed and ran inside the house soaking wet; he shook his body to dry up a little, good thing Anna wasn't anywhere near him. "Achoo! You'd better stay here in the first floor only! Achoo! My room is strictly off limits to foxes, got that! Achoo!" Anna left Kurt in the living room then she went up stairs into her room, closing the door and making sure that he won't come in.

Back toYoh and his friends…

"Come on, just two more blocks, and then we're home free!" Yoh said as they all ran towards the house. He was carrying Manta on his back since he wasn't a fast runner.

"Hey that's not fair! Why don't you let me and Yoh under that snowboard of yours!" Ren asked as he used his outer shirt to cover himself.

"There's only enough room for two people!" Horohoro was holding the snowboard above his and Tamao's head. "You know what they say Ren…ladies first!"

Back in the inn…

"Huh?" Anna looked at the door which was slowly opening. It opened up a bit, and it was just wide enough for Kurt to enter. "I thought I told you my room's off limits to foxes!" Anna was unable to lock her door because; well…it didn't have a lock. Yoh thought her lock was broken and Anna was stuck inside, so he broke it down accidentally; but what Anna meant was that the lock to the entrance was broken. That little accident earned Yoh a one way trip to jogging city; it was a 'go jog around the neighbor hood till I feel like telling you to stop' training.

"Get out now!" Anna pointed towards the door, but the fox just went in. "I said get out! Not go in! Achoo!" but Kurt just walked towards her and sat down right in front of her. "Ugh! Just stay away from me! When Yoh gets back, he is so gonna pay! Achoo!"

Anna ignored the fox and sat on the corner furthest away form Kurt; she opened her book and started reading. Kurt started walking towards Anna again, and she tried to shoo him away, but he just went closer to her. "Achoo! What do you want! Get away from me right this instant! Can't you see I'm allergic to you! Achoo!" The shivering Kurt ignored Anna's constant yelling; he sat beside her and curled up in a ball. Anna gritted her teeth and slowly and angrily, but seemingly calmly told him, "If you do not get out of my sight right now! Achoo! I am going to kick you back out in the rain! Achoo!"

Rarely did Anna used this tone of voice at anyone, and rarely did she lose her temper; and who knew she would have admitted that she was allergic to a fox. Anna looked at the fox sitting right beside her; he seemed to be shivering less than he was shivering awhile ago. 'He looks a bit cute if he's like that…no…what am I saying? "Achoo!" Thanks to this thing…I'm sneezing and I'm itching all over.' Anna was about to shove him aside or even move somewhere else, but something in that fox made her not do it. She sighed and let the fox sit beside her, it was Yoh's pet after all…she didn't have the heart to throw it out…without the forced/unforced approval of Yoh. "Achoo!" Kurt was still shivering, and Anna was just looking down at him, and trying her best not to sneeze, "Achoo!" She removed the bandana on her head and wrapped it around Kurt; he didn't shiver anymore after this. "You know, you kinda remind me about Yoh…achoo! Always sleeping, always eating, stubborn, and cute…"

Meanwhile…

"I see the inn! We're here!" Horohoro tried covering Tamao using his snowboard; actually, he was letting Tamao use the skateboard for herself, but she insisted that she'd rather share the roof with him.

"Finally!" Yoh and the others ran to the backyard, but they did not see Kurt there, all they saw was a chewed up leash that was tied around the tree. "Oh no! Do you think he could have gotten lose!"

"I don't think so, the gate was closed when we came here!" Manta said as he helped the others look for Kurt. "Maybe he's inside…"

"Impossible, Anna wouldn't even let Kurt step foot in the house!" Ren looked around for Kurt, but there was no sign of him.

"True…but that's the only place we haven't searched" Tamao and the others ran in the house to look for Kurt. Tamao searched the kitchen, Manta looked in the hallways, Ren checked the living room, Horohoro checked the bathrooms, and Yoh checked his own room. "Where are you Kurt?" Yoh suddenly heard a sneeze from Anna's room, 'Maybe I'll see if she's okay and ask her if she saw Kurt.' When Yoh opened the door to Anna's room, he saw her sitting by the window reading a book. "Hey Anna, have you seen…" before he could even finish his sentence, he saw him beside Anna, wrapped in her bandana. Kurt opened his eyes and ran saw Yoh; he unwrapped himself from the red bandana and ran towards Yoh wagging his tail. "Hey Kurt!" Yoh received Kurt and patted him while the others came running into Anna's room, petting, rubbing, and saying stuff about Kurt. Anna closed her book and stood up from her place and walked towards Yoh.

"So…am I in trouble?" Yoh said with worry in his face. Anna was standing in front of him, and he was expecting to have the worst punishment in history.

"No…" Anna answered simply before tossing Yoh her red bandana. "Get this thing washed; I don't want to see a single strand of fox hair when I get this back…achoo!" She left the room without saying another word.

Next day in the afternoon…

Manta, Tamao, Ren, and Horohoro were playing with Kurt in the backyard. Anna was on the couch watching T.V, and Yoh entered the room where she was, after finishing 500 laps around the neighborhood. "Hey Anna, thanks for taking care of Kurt yesterday, even though you didn't like him that much…" Yoh handed Anna her red bandana, and she scanned to see if there are any fox hairs on it. "You didn't have to put him in your room if you were allergic to him…"

"He went in my room at his own will" Anna tied the red bandana on her head. "Just be thankful I didn't leave him out there in the rain…"

"Yeah, but why didn't you just put him in my room when he fell asleep?" Yoh asked her.

"If you don't stop asking me those kinds of questions, then I'll make you sleep outside!" Anna said.

"Hehehe…" Yoh smiled back at Anna. "Hey, you wanna come with us later? We're gonna pick up some stuff for Kurt…But you don't have to go if you don't want to…"

"I'm going…" Anna turned the T.V. off and stood up from the couch.

"But what about your…" Yoh shut up after Anna glared at him.

Everyone walked outside the inn and into the streets. They were going to a pet store where they can buy a small house for Kurt. Everyone was walking while Kurt walked beside Yoh, he often circled around the group once in a while. "Achoo!" Anna still sneezed even though she was behind everybody.

"Hey Anna, are you sure you want to go with us" Manta asked. His question was answered when Anna glared at him. Anna was regretting ever telling anyone about her allergy. They walked and walked, and when they were just a block away from the store, somebody called a name which somehow made Kurt react.

"Shido!" a small black haired 10 year old boy called out from across the not-busy street. Kurt immediately ran towards the boy and wagged his tail a lot.

"Shido?" everyone else went across the street to meet this boy who just called the fox 'Shido.' "Do you know this fox dude?" Horohoro asked the boy.

"Yes! My name is Nicholas Suzuki, but you can call me Nick! Nice to meet you! This is my pet fox, Shido; I've been looking for him for 5 days already, I was so worried about him, thank you so very much mister!" the boy said.

"I'm glad I could help…" Yoh's emotions were mixed with sadness for losing Kurt, and happiness for finding Kurt's owner. "Can I ask you something? Why do you have a fox for a pet?"

"He's not just an ordinary pet…he's my guardian!" Nick said, making the others look at him in surprise.

"You're a shaman aren't you?" Anna asked.

"Yup that's right! And this is my guardian ghost, Ember!" a big crimson red fox the size of a Doberman appeared beside Nick. He had yellow eyes, long ears, sharp claws, long tail, and instead of the usual white markings that a normal fox has, it had light orange markings. "How did you guys know? Are you guys Shaman's too?" Everyone nodded except for Manta. "Thank you so very much for taking care of Shido for me! Time to say good bye Shido…" Nick put down the fox, and it ran towards Yoh and the others.

"Take care of your self Kurt, we'll miss you…" everyone surrounded Kurt stroking him and rubbing him good bye. Kurt wagged his tail and walked towards Anna; the others in turn were surprised at what the fox did. Anna bent down and patted the fox's head, "Protect your master well Kurt…" Kurt wagged its tail and ran back to Nick.

"There he goes…I'm glad he's back with his master, both of them look like they get along pretty well…" Yoh smiled as he and the rest of the gang watched Nick and Shido walk away.

Next day at evening…

"Phew…I'm done with training for today…man, quadruple training's very tiring…" Yoh said as he looked at the clock. It was already 10:00 pm, and Anna told him to jog around the neighbor hood 100 times before bed. The quadruple training schedule took up the whole Sunday of Yoh. Yoh went to the bathroom and took a bath, then he silently walked towards his room; when he opened the door, he saw something on his futon. It was a cute orange fox stuffed toy, and it was wearing a red collar, and the label said "Kurt". Yoh smiled and held the stuffed toy; he walked to Anna's room, and when he silently opened the door, she was already sleeping. He knelt down beside her and kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room, "Thanks a lot Anna…"

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"So that's where you got this fox doll that looks like Kurt/Shido" Tamao squeezed the fox doll, and Anna turne the page.

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Phew…that was the longest one shot that I've ever written, but I think it came out good. So what do you guys think? Is it too fast? Do you think I should make another version like this? In a not one shot fic form with chapters? Or is it okay as is? If you guys see any errors, please feel free to correct me; I got lazy trying to edit it, hehehe, oh well...It was 5003 words, can you guys beleive it?

I remembered once when my friend saw a fluffy cat, and she decided to take it home, but then they found out that her brother was allergic to it, we had no choice but to find out whom it belongs to. We gave it back to our neighbor who loved cats a lot. So I decided to write a fic on this too! Wow…I just realized that most of my fics have an origin! Hehehe…


	5. Lost Key

I really want to thank everyone who reviewed and supported my fics. I'm glad you guys liked my last chapter! I'm so happy so I'll write more one shots! In the prologue part, instead of Horohoro and Pirika coming from Hokkaido, I changed it, so it says that they came back from Hokkaido after visiting their parents for the week. The title's kinda like a summary already, gives you an idea of what the fic's about.

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Page 4: Lost Key

Another day of school was done; everyone stuffed their books in their lockers and went home to prepare for a great Saturday tomorrow. It was only 4:00 pm, so others decided to go out with their friends, others preferred to go straight home, and the rest wanted to hang out at their friends' place.

"It's just over there in the next street to the left!" Horohoro pointed towards the new house that he and Pirika's parents rented. It was everyone's first time to see Horohoro's house; the two ainu siblings are now living in Funbari as of today to finish their studies till they graduate high school. They finally arrived at a gate of a small blue house that had two floors, with a simple garden. It was small, but it was big enough for Pirika and him to fit.

"Nice place you got here Horohoro!" Yoh scanned the house and its surroundings, nice and simple.

"Wait till you see the inside of the house!" Horohoro and the rest followed him into the door as they scanned the surrounding area some more. "Okay, let me just get the key…" Horohoro reached into his pocket to take out the key, but Horohoro just put a confused expression on his face. He took out his hand from the pocket and reached in to his other pocket.

"What's the matter?" Ren asked while Horohoro searched his other pockets. "You lost the key didn't you?"

"No! It's just temporarily misplaced, and I'll find it soon!" Horohoro dug deep into his pockets, and he even removed his shoes to see if they were in there.

"Looks permanently misplaced if you'll ask me…" Manta told Horohoro who was still searching everywhere.

"Why don't you just wait for Pirika to go home? She can unlock the door for us" Ryo suggested.

"What are you doing here Ryo?" Yoh asked his friend.

"I recently heard that there were new people living in this street" Ryo answered, "So I went here to check it out; I didn't know you moved here Horohoro"

"Yeah yeah, just help me find the keys!" Horohoro started searching the ground to see if he accidentally dropped it. "I can't tell Pirika I lost the key, she's gonna kill me cause it's the only key to the house! I was supposed to duplicate it tomorrow!"

"That's bad luck; so how're you guys getting in?" Lyserg asked. "It's probably too late to retrace your steps, since its getting dark"

"But you can't just make them sleep out here tonight…" Yoh explained. "Let's just find another way in"

"You're right! Let's break down the door!" Ryo started charging towards the door, but he was stopped by everyone else before he collided with the door.

"Stop that you idiot! Pirika's gonna have my head if she doesn't see a door when she gets back home!" Horohoro and the rest held Ryo tightly.

"Okay…we can't ram down the door, and we can't retrace our steps; now what?" Yoh was as confused as everyone else.

"Why don't we just go through the window?" Lyserg suggested to everyone.

"That could be possible if the windows were not locked from the inside…" Ren clarified. "But since this is Horohoro we're talking about, it wouldn't be a problem…"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Horohoro raised his fist, and Ren pointed to an open window on the second floor, and if you looked close enough, you could see a snowboard displayed above a table near the window. "Oh that…"

"Yeah, Horohoro does have a habit of not closing his window…" Manta reminded everyone. He remembered the incident that happened the last time they slept over at Yoh's house. Horohoro was the last one to sleep among all the boys; he was beside the window, and he forgot to close it. The next day when everyone woke up, they were surprised to see that there were insects everywhere.

"So, do you have a ladder?" Ryo asked Horohoro.

"No why?" Horohoro's head got smacked by Ren.

"Well, I guess the only way we can get up there is if we give each other a boost" Yoh said. "At least till one of us is able to get in through the window to unlock the door."

"I guess we have no other choice then…hop on!" Ryo went under the window, and Yoh jumped on to his shoulders. They still couldn't reach the window, so Ryo helped Lyserg climb onto Yoh.

"Why do I even bother trying to do this…" Ren climbed up on the Shaman ladder, but they still didn't reach the window.

It was Horohoro's turn this time; so he climbed on top of Ren and the window was only a few inches from his reach. "I got it!" Horohoro was able to grab the window, but his sudden movement made the human ladder unstable, making it fall. Horohoro was the only person left hanging on window, and everyone else fell on top of the bushes. Horohoro looked down and suddenly let go, causing him to land on top of Lyserg.

"You idiot! Why did you let go of the window?" Ren was enraged as he started poking Horohoro with his hair.

"Um…I lost my grip and I…um…was afraid of heights!" Horohoro laughed as Lyserg pushed him off himself.

"How can you be afraid of heights if you live in the mountains always snowboarding off cliffs…" Yoh asked his ainu friend.

"Whatever dude, lets just do it again!"

"I don't think I want to do that thing again! That fall almost broke my back!" Ryo rubbed his back to ease the pain.

"Now what?" Yoh rubbed his head thinking of a solution.

"Why are we wasting time trying to even get up the window?" Horohoro had a light bulb appear above his head. "Manta looks aero-dynamic! Let's just toss him to the window and hope he's able to grab on to it!" Without any warning or second thoughts, Horohoro grabbed Manta and tossed him to the window. Manta was able to reach the window; but unfortunately, he collided head first with the window, causing him to drop back down on the bushes with a really big bump on his head. The collision between Manta's head and the window was so strong, that it shut the window.

"Nice going Horohoro…" Ren said sarcastically.

"Don't you think it would be better if you think first before you act?" Lyserg covered his face with his hand.

"AND DON'T YOU THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED MY PERMISSION FIRST BEFORE TURNING ME INTO A HUMAN GRAPPLING HOOK? WHICH I AM NOT!" Manta just woke up from his injury.

"So how are we gonna get in now if Horohoro made the problem worse by shutting the only entrance to the house?" Yoh said.

"You goofed big time Horohoro!" Ryo said.

"Okay okay! So I made a mistake, but I'm only human after all!" Horohoro was frustrated after receiving the annoying yet true remarks from his friends.

"So what do we do now?" Lyserg asked.

Ryo and Horohoro looked at each other and they both said, "Break down the door!" Ryo and Horohoro were charging towards the door, when they were suddenly grabbed by everyone else.

"Didn't you just hear what I said awhile ago? Think first before you act!" Lyserg held Horohoro tightly, who was still trying to charge towards the door.

"Clam down you guys! Let's just think of another way to get in…if there is another way!" Yoh held on to Ryo while Manta held on to Ryo's leg.

"If you two idiots are not going to stop this at once, then I'm gonna kill both of you!" Ren was ignoring Horohoro's frantic shouts.

"What is going on here?" the boys turned around to see Pirika, Anna, Jun, and Tamao standing by the gate. The girls scanned the boys, who were covered in dirt and leaves. Horohoro left the boys and went to Pirika.

"I'm really really sorry Pirika, but I…I…I lost the keys!" Horohoro managed to say out aloud. Pirika was looking at his brother who was bowing and begging for mercy.

Pirika smiled at his brother, "It's okay Horohoro, I'm not mad…" Horohoro looked up to her smiling. "Don't worry; we can just use the key under the rug."

"Key…under…the…rug?" all of the boys were eying Horohoro, who was looking at her sister confused.

"Key under the rug? You never told me we had a key under the rug!" Horohoro was still confused.

"Of course there's a key under the rug" Pirika went over to the door and unlocked it, revealing a nice living room. "The man who sold us the house gave us two keys. I told you to duplicate it tomorrow so that I can have one two, just in case you forgot to bring your keys…"

"And besides, if you guys didn't have any keys, why didn't you just unlock the door using spirit control, you are shamans after all in case you didn't forget…" Anna rolled her eyes while all the rest of the boys looked at Horohoro in anger.

"Now that that's settled, why don't we all go in and have dinner?" everyone went inside the house and ate dinner, obviously.

When everyone was done eating dinner, everyone went home. Anna and Yoh walked home, Ryo gave Lyserg and Manta a ride home, and Ren took the cab to the hotel with Jun. When they arrived at the hotel, Jun paid the cab and they went inside the hotel. They rode up in the elevator until it reached their room.

"Imagine how much we had to go through; and in the end, Horohoro had a spare key under his rug and he didn't even know it!" Ren was telling his sister what happened while Jun just laughed. "What are you waiting for? Unlock the door!"

"What do you mean unlock the door? You brought the keys!" Jun complained, trying to reach in for a key in her pockets.

"I don't have the keys!" Ren dug into his pockets but found no key. "Let's just use spirit control to open the door…"

"Bason is not here; you sent him off somewhere for the day, and he isn't returning home till tomorrow morning…" Jun said. "Let's just ask the room service to give us the spare…"

"The room service doesn't have a spare! It said in the board in the waiting lounge that we are responsible for our own keys." Ren pointed out. "Let's just go through the window…"

"We can't…we're on the 10th floor…" Jun said. "We can't go out anymore to ask our friends to unlock the door for us, its night time, and there are no more taxi's running at this time of the night…"

"So how are we going to get in then? Wait for Bason to unlock the door?" Ren shouted.

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"I remember how we had to sleep in the waiting lounge just because we didn't have the key to our room…" Jun laughed at the sight of the picture.

"It's your fault Bason! Why didn't you come home faster?" Ren shouted at his guardian ghost.

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Yey! Another chapter finished! I noticed that some of you guys are waiting for Hao to appear, well you guys just have to wait. I'll have him show up in a chapter soon, as soon as I think of how to make him reappear. As a matter of fact, some of you guys already now that Hao…oops, better not tell you guys who haven't figured it out yet. It's gonna be a spoiler if I say it right now, good thing I stopped myself, hehehe…

Anyway, do you guys wanna know how I got the idea for this chap? I remembered when I was five years old; somebody accidentally locked my room, and left the keys inside! But I don't remember how my room was unlocked back then, but I'm glad they did unlock it. See? I wasn't kidding when I said most of my fics have its own origin…hehehe.

Guess what guys, I'm going to Hong Kong this week! Yey! So this'll be my last update before I go to Honk Kong; but that doesn't mean this is the last chapter, we're not even half way done yet! I'll be back, probably by May 5. I hope I'll get a lot of reviews while I'm away on vacation. Pray for me, that while I'm in Hong Kong, I'll be able to come up with a lot of new ideas for the story!

A/N: Lastly, I was thinking that, before the prologue, I'm gonna make a chapter that will summarize the chapters I have already written, in order to interest some of the readers. Do you guys think it's a good idea or not? Why or why not? Please include the answer to this while reviewing; I would highly appreciate it; thank you everyone! See you guys in 5 days!


	6. Kino's Training

A/N IMPORTANT: Hey guys, thanks for reviewing; hehehe I guess I caught your attention when I wrote important in all caps; anyway this really is important. I just came back from Hong Kong, and I checked my email, and I was so surprised that I got a lot of reviews. Sadly, only 2 reviewers answered my question in the previous chapter: blonde itako andAndrea Nefisto(thanks so very much guys)

Andrea Nefisto: Thanks for reminding me about the photo part in the Red Fox chapter, I'll try to fix it as soon as I can.

I want you guys to also give your suggestions so that I can make this fic better, so I'll give your guys another chance to answer my question; so, I was thinking that, before the prologue, I'm gonna make a chapter that will summarize the chapters I have already written, in order to interest some of the readers. Do you guys think it's a good idea or not? Why or why not? Please include the answer to this while reviewing; I would highly appreciate it; thank you everyone!

I also noticed I got a lot of anonymus reviewers, oh well...I guess it's alright, the more reviews the better, ne?

One more chapter up! I was kinda thinking, how many chapters will this fic have? Oh well, but I bet it won't be ending soon…I still have a lot of one shot ideas in my head, so keep reading and keep waiting for a chapter update. Read and review guys! Once again, the title gives us a brief summary to the chapter.

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Page 5: Kino's Training

Yoh locked the gate to the house one morning. He, Anna, and Tamao are going to Izumo and staying there for the weekends; the three are also going there for a special training. Manta decided to come since he wanted to get away from the city; and Ren also came since Jun recommended him to go there because she says it might improve his fighting skills. It was really quiet during the train ride from Funbari to Izumo; and after 5 hours, they finally made it to the Asakura temple, and at the entrance, there stood Yoh's grandfather and grandmother, Yohmei and Kino.

"Good too see you all again…" Yohmei greeted his grandson, his grandson's fiancée, his apprentice, and his grandson's two friends. "What brings your chinese friend here? Does he also want to train?" Ren nodded his head respectfully. "Very well then, come inside…we'll have some tea. You may begin your training tomorrow, all of you seem very tired from the long trip" Yohmei called the servants and told them to carry their luggage and lead them to their respective rooms.

The next day, before their training began, the five ate their breakfast; not much conversations that time either. Probably because Horohoro was not there, they always have a nice conversation when he's around, but not today, because today is the day they go back to Hokkaido to visit their parents fro the weekend.

30 minutes after breakfast, and 25 minutes after Anna and Tamao left the room, Kino entered the room, "So boys, lets go outside and start out training…" Yoh and Ren followed Kino, and Manta followed the two from behind. "You may start by jogging around the outside of temple 500 times…" Yoh's jaw dropped, along with Ren. The place was as big as their neighborhood; and Anna didn't even make him jog around the neighborhood more than 400 times. "Get a move on boys. You too Manta; since you were able to do spirit control with Mosuke, that means you have the potential to become a Shaman too." Mosuke, who was floating above Manta, looked down at his happy master. Manta was glad that he was already starting to become a Shaman, and he even has Mosuke as his guardian ghost, but not officially yet though. Yoh and Ren reminded him of how many laps he had to run, making him snap out of his daydreaming of one day becoming a great super shaman. "What are you waiting for you three? Move it!"

"I can't believe Jun sent me here to train!" Ren was running beside Yoh and Manta.

"I can't believe Anna told me to come here for this…" Yoh lazily ran beside Ren. The three kept running and running until they reached a spring with crystal clear water for the 200th time. "Let's take a break…we've been running around a lot…"

"I…pant…agree…with you…for once…" Ren collapsed and sat down on a rock.

"I wish I was back in Funbari…at least Anna's trainings are not as tough as this…" Yoh sat down and leaned his back on a tree. Manta went to the spring and took a hand full of water and drank it, it tasted good, so Ren and Yoh did the same thing.

"Okay now that we're done with the break, don't you think we should go now?" Ren asked. Yoh and Manta looked at each other, and then at Ren.

"Nah, why don't we rest here for a while? My grandma can wait" Yoh yawned and lazily stretched out his arms. Yoh stood up when he saw a figure underneath the waterfall which was far away from them. "Hey guys…doesn't that girl over there look like Anna?" Ren and Manta stood up and looked at the figure, and Yoh was right, it was Anna. She was sitting on the rock under the waterfall with her eyes closed and was dressed in her white robe.

"What is she doing there?" Manta asked. "The water's freezing cold, and if I were in her place, I would probably freeze. The falls also look really heavy, considering how high it is…" Then suddenly out of nowhere, Kino walked towards Anna, they boys quickly shut their mouths and hid behind the trees.

"Are you done?" Kino asked Anna, who just nodded. "Good…"

Anna stood up from the rock and went on the dry land. "How long are you three going to stay there?" Anna asked without turning to the direction of the boys; Kino looked to see the three hiding behind the big tree.

"Uh…hi Anna, hi grandma, hehehehe…" Yoh rubbed the back of his head while Ren and Manta slowly backed away.

"So exactly how long have they been here Anna?" Kino asked Anna, eying the three frightened boys.

"They were here just 10 minutes ago, but they were able to do 200 laps…" Anna answered as she grabbed the towel on the dry rock which was beside her sandals.

"You boys are here to train, not to go on vacation…" Kino said, not taking her eyes off the three boys.

'I thought that was the reason why I came along…' Manta thought to himself. "Yes you're right, we are here for training, so what am I waiting for? Gotta finish those 300 laps!" Manta quickly ran away, because by experience, he knew she might make the training worse if he didn't leave. Ren quickly followed Manta from behind, and the two boys kept running away until they were out of sight.

"Uh, guys?" Yoh looked at the direction where Manta and Ren ran off too, while failing to ignore the glare he received from Kino. But he was used to it because Anna gave him a lot of glares worse than this back home. Yoh was about to run off too, but Kino grabbed his shirt and stopped him.

"Just where do you think you're going Yoh?" Kino said. "Why don't I just switch your training program, since you're the new Shaman king…"

"Uh, okay…" Yoh knew that if he said 'no', who knows what might have happened.

"Okay then, you can train with Anna here…" Kino walked away and left the two there.

'Training with Anna, does she mean she's gonna make Anna train me?' Yoh thought to himself.

"No, it means she is going to train both of us" Anna read Yoh's mind while she was drying herself. When the two were done talking, Yoh followed Anna back to the temple. Anna went inside her room to change to her normal clothes, and Yoh waited outside. While waiting outside, he saw Ren and Manta enter the room, panting and sweating.

"500 laps…done…" Manta and Ren collapsed on the floor. "Just where have you been Yoh? We've been jogging for 15 minutes…and we didn't see you…"

"I was with Anna and grandma, and grandma said she's gonna train me and Anna" Yoh said.

"Lucky for you…We had to go around 500 laps." Manta grabbed a bottle of water and drank it all in an instant. "I can't imagine what kind of training your grandma gives to Anna. All she does is sit in front of the T.V. at home"

"I heard that shorty!" Anna closed the door to her room and went in front of Manta. "What did you just say about me sitting in front of the T.V. the whole day?"

"Nothing…" Manta gulped, when all of a sudden, Kino entered the room where all of them were.

"Are you two boys done?" Kino asked Ren and Manta; both nodded. "Are you two ready?" Kino asked Anna and Yoh; both of them also nodded. "What's with all the nodding? I'm not deaf you know. Anna and Yoh, you two can start by jogging outside and around the temple…1000 times."

"1000? 1000! 1000 TIMES? DID YOU JUST SAY 1000 TIMES?" Yoh was about to faint when he heard those, while Ren and Manta just dropped their jaws; Anna seemed as if she didn't mind at all.

"Yes, 1000 times; and don't forget your weights…" Kino pointed to a corner cabinet before leaving the room. Yoh opened the cabinet and saw 4 sets of weights for both hands and feet. Anna grabbed the weights and put them on. Yoh did the same thing; the only difference is that he couldn't get it out of the cabinet.

"How much does this thing weigh?" Yoh struggled to remove the weights from the cabinet, and when he did, it fell on the ground with a very loud thud.

"Coming Yoh?" Anna crossed her arms normally, as if there were no weights on it.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" Yoh struggled to stand up, but he was having a hard time standing up. "Hey Anna, you wanna change weights?" 'Yours looks lighter than mine…'

"Sure, why not…" Anna removed the weights and handed them to Yoh, using only one of her hands. Yoh removed the weights and got hold of the weights Anna was holding. When Yoh got hold of the weights, Anna let go of it; and Yoh fell immediately to the ground with the set of weights still in his hands. "Well?..." Yoh got the weights off his hands, he grabbed one of the weights with his two hands and tried lifting it, but it remained still on the ground. Ren and Manta tried to help Yoh lift it, but they also couldn't lift it.

"Um Anna, never mind…" Yoh and the rest fell on the ground. Anna bent down to pick up the weight that Yoh, Manta, and Ren were trying to lift; and surprisingly, she was able to use only one hand, and she lifted it with ease.

"Stop wasting time Yoh, are you coming or not?" Anna was starting to get impatient as she watched Yoh put on the very heavy weights that she didn't think was that heavy. Yoh successfully put on all four weights, and when he stood up, he felt as if the whole world was on his hands and feet. Anna went outside, and Yoh was just standing there. "Move it Yoh!"

Immediately, he ran outside and started jogging with Anna outside the temple. Yoh was having a hard time, but Anna was just jogging naturally.

"Hey Anna, you don't seem to be breaking a sweat…" Yoh on the other hand was sweating like a water fountain.

"I've been doing this a lot when I was younger Yoh; before I came to Funbari to help you train to become the Shaman King" Anna answered him.

"Yeah, but I can't imagine you doing this kind of training …" Yoh laughed, and Anna just raised her eyebrow at him.

"How do you then expect me to come up of training schedules for you?"

"I thought you just thought of them"

"Of course not…if I couldn't do them, then I wouldn't make you do them in the first place…Besides, I know you can do them better than me"

"Really? So why am I jogging around the temple 1000 times? You only made me jog the village around 200 times"

"Do you want to jog around the village 1000 times with weights as heavy as this on your arms and legs?"

"…no…"

"Then don't ask me that question!"

The two continued jogging around the temple, and when they reached their 1000th lap around the temple after an hour, they went inside the temple and removed their weights. Yoh collapsed on the ground tired; Anna was as tired as Yoh too, but she didn't show it. Ren and Manta were just there watching the two.

"Are…you guys…done…with your training?" Yoh asked as he dragged himself to the table.

"Yup" Ren and Manta both answered. Kino entered the room again, looking at the four, and behind her was Tamao.

"Are you two done?" Kino asked Yoh and Anna, who answered yes. "Good, you can take a two minute break, and then go outside afterwards…"

"What?" Yoh couldn't believe what he just heard. "But we jogged around the temple a thousand times!"

"That was just warm up Yoh…" Anna took a seat beside Yoh and Ren.

Yoh sighed and made his head fall on the table. 'Now I'm glad Anna's there to train me instead of grandma. There's no way I'd survive her training…I wonder how Anna does it…"

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"You know Anna, for someone who sits in front of the T.V. the whole day, you sure are strong…" Chocolove found himself being tossed aside by Anna when he said those.

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Did you guys like it? I hope you did! The origin for this story? Well, my friends and I had a race, and that's how I got the idea…weird huh? Anyway, read and review guys…sorry about Hao not appearing in any of the fics yet, I'm trying to think of one…runs away from the angry mob of fangirls of Hao


	7. Static Electricity

I'm glad that you guys kept reading; thanks for the reviews! To all Hao fan girls: two chapters left! (meaning this chapter and the next one)

Thanks for answering the quiestion I posted last time guys, although I only got a few answers, I've decided to post chapter summaries at the beggining of the story.

If you guys are waiting for other couples such as RenPirika, HoroTamao, and LysergJeanne; I'm really sorry about not posting chapters about them yet, but I promise I'll make chapters about them. If anyone has any requests or suggestions, please feel free to tell/write about it; I really really need those at the moment. For those who are waiting for me to update "Spirit Unity", I'll try my best to do so; I make it a point to try to finish all my stories so that there won't be any cliff hangers.

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Page 6: Static Electricity

The cold wind blew in as the young brunette opened the door. He went in, removed his shoes, and slowly closed the door to the house, making sure not to wake up anybody in the house. Yoh rubbed his hands to keep himself warm from the cold winter, and went to proceed to the kitchen in order to fix himself something hot; tea, coffee, hot chocolate, anything to keep himself warm.

While he was dragging himself the kitchen, he saw a room that was lit up. He went there to check it out, and when he peeped in, he saw Anna on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around herself. The T.V. suddenly turned off by itself; it was probably because it was in sleep mode. He ignored it and sat beside Anna, who was sleeping. "She was probably waiting for me, all this time." Yoh glanced at the clock which read 11:30 pm. He came home late because of the strong blizzard; he had to stay inside a 24/7 store and wait for it to settle down a bit so that he can get home. Yoh looked at Anna, and she was sleeping peacefully; 'she looks cute like that' Yoh thought to himself.

Yoh reached out his hand to try to remove the hair from her face, but when he touched her skin, he felt a slight shock. Before he knew it, Anna slowly opened her eyes and came in to contact with Yoh's. 'Am I busted?'

"Tell me what took you so long to get home; then I'll think of whether to bust you or not…" Anna slowly sat up from her lying down position and listened to Yoh's story.

"…and then that's why I arrived late…" Yoh finished his explanation.

"Okay, so why didn't you just go to your room? You didn't have to wake me up…"

"I didn't wake you up on purpose; I got shocked when I touched you…"

"It was probably because you were dragging your feet and rubbing your hands together in this cold weather; it must have caused static electricity."

"Oh…so that's why…I wasn't listening to the teacher when you guys took this lesson up, hehehehe"

"Let's just get to bed, it's late already…" Before Anna could stand up, Yoh stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Let go of me Yoh!"

"Hey Anna, do you want to know what else is static electricity?" Yoh smiled and asked her.

"What?" Anna asked in an irritated way.

"This…" Yoh gently leaned towards Anna while both of them were sitting down. He gently kissed her and she just stayed there with her eyes wide open; she finally closed her eyes and surprisingly kissed him back. Both of them felt a jolt of electricity shoot through their bodies, but it wasn't painful at all; it was warm, it made their hearts beat fast, and it felt good.

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So how'd you guys like it? If Red Fox was my longest one shot, then this is my shortest one shot for now. I got this idea when I often got shocked by static electricity in my aunt's air-conditioned office (it feels good to be there, especially in this time of summer, hehehe). Read and review guys!


	8. Childhood Family

Hello everyone! I got a lot of reviews in the previous chapters, thanks a lot! You guys are the best! Thanks for also correcting me in the photo parts guys!

I have a confession to make guys, I'm...only half way done with the next fic (when Hao makes his first apperance in my fic). I kinda got stuck in the middle, and I'm trying to figure out a way to unstuck myself (hides somewhere). I really really need suggestions guys, at least for the next chapter; because if I'm stuck at a certain chapter, it might take me a long time to update. I'll try my best to finish the next chapter; I would greatly appreciate it if you guys helped me out in any form/way, thanks!

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Page 7: Childhood Family

A soft breeze blew gently at the face of a young three year old boy sitting under the tree. You could tell by how he looks, he was running away from someone who was giving him a very boring lecture. He stretched his arms and legs and relaxed under a tree he was leaning on. He didn't seem to care about anything as of now; his face looks so peaceful, relaxed, and happy; a face without worry. It felt nice just sitting and lying around doing nothing.

Something suddenly caught his attention when he opened his eyes. He saw his itako grandmother carrying a child, probably around his age; and behind his grandmother was his grandfather. Both were headed inside the house, so the young chestnut haired boy decided to follow them.

He slowly slid the door open and peeped inside, and there he saw his grandparents and his father. When he tried to fit his tiny head inside the sliding door's small opening, he saw the kid that his grandmother was carrying just a little while ago. She was lying down asleep on a futon, and she had shoulder length golden blonde hair. He slowly opened the door and entered the room, and the three who were in the room noticed that he came in.

"Yoh?" Mikihisa looked at his son.

"Grandma? Who is that?" Yoh asked innocently pointing to the girl sleeping on the futon.

"I do not know who she is yet" Kino answered her grandson. "I found her near a temple just a while ago. I feel that she has been abandoned…"

"What is 'abandon' grandpa?" Yoh scratched the back of his head.

"Abandon is when somebody leaves behind or throws away something he/she doesn't need anymore" Yohmei answered his grandson. Yoh slowly walked towards the girl and sat down; she was bruised and had an injury on her head, and her clothes were dirty.

"If she was abandoned, why don't you just give her back to her mommy and daddy?" Yoh asked.

"I think the ones who abandoned her are her parents Yoh" Kino answered. "I have heard from people in the village where I found this girl that she was a demon because she created an Oni. She also has the ability to read minds of other people. I think these are the reasons why her parents abandoned her."

"But grandma, she does not look like a demon" Yoh innocently said. "She looks kinda cute…"

"It is true that she is not a demon Yoh" Mikihisa smiled at his son. "People who are afraid of those people with supernatural powers call them demons because they are different in a way."

"But if what you say is true Kino, then that means that she might be a shaman too" Yohmei said.

"You mean she is just like me?" Yoh asked.

"Yes Yoh, she is a shaman just like you and Tamao. But they did say she was able to summon an Oni; and only itakos can summon spirits" Kino looked at the child carefully. "I think she has the potential to become an itako, so I'm going to train her to be one, if she passes the initiation test for itakos."

"You mean she has to pass a test in order to become one grandma? What if she does not pass? Will you also abandon her?" Yoh asked.

"We won't abandon her if she doesn't pass" Kino smiled at his grandson. "But I believe she will pass…and I will make her my apprentice…"

"Okay, now if you'll excuse us Yoh, the three of us will have a little talk. Why don't you just stay here and watch over her, just in case she wakes up" Mikihisa and the two stood up and left the room, leaving Yoh with the blonde child.

Yoh looked at her and smiled, and when he was about to get close to her, the door opened revealing a three year old pink headed girl. She was carrying two glasses of water when she went in.

"Yoh, is this the girl grandma found?" She asked pointing at the child. Yoh nodded, and when he tried to touch her, she slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey Tamao, look! I think she is waking up!" Yoh stood back as the girl opened her eyes. When they were opened, she scanned her surroundings and quickly sat up, but a severe headache made her fall back down on the bed. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Her vision was blurry, but it all cleared after a while.

"Me? My name is Yoh Asakura!" Yoh smiled and patted his hand on the pink headed girl beside him, "And she is Tamao Tamamura!"

"Nice…to meet you…" the girl said without looking into their eyes.

"So what's your name?" Tamao asked the girl.

"I…I can't remember" the girl said still looking away.

"You can't remember your name?" Yoh asked confused.

"Yoh, I think it is the thing that happens when you hit your head really hard. I think it's called Amnesia, where you forget stuff" Tamao tried to recall.

"Hey, do you remember anything before you got here?" Yoh asked the girl.

"I think I remember some stuff" she replied to Yoh. "I remember being called demon by some people in the place where I lived, and it was very scary. Then I remember two people who were carrying me outside a big place. One of them was a woman with long hair, then the other one was a man, and he was carrying a wooden stick; they put me down near a tall tree, then the man raised his wooden stick. Then when I woke up, my head hurt really badly and then I saw you two. Where am I?"

"You're in my house" Yoh smiled at the girl.

"Can I ask you a question?" Tamao asked. "The two people who where carrying you, were they your mommy and daddy?"

"I…I think so…" the girl said sadly. "But, I don't think they want me anymore. They looked really angry at me when people called me demon."

"That's not very nice of them!" Yoh said. "Your mommy and daddy are supposed to love you, not the other way around!" The girl and Tamao just looked down on the ground. Yoh suddenly changed his mood, "If they won't be your mommy and daddy, then Tamao and me can be your mommy and daddy!"

"Um Yoh, I think mommies and daddies are supposed to be older…" Tamao blushed a bit.

"Okay, how about grandpa and grandma?" Yoh laughed.

"I think they're too old to be a mommy and a daddy, that's why we call them grandpa and grandma" Tamao said.

"It's okay…I don't need a new mommy and daddy, they're probably just going to be scared because I'm a demon…" the girl looked down sadly, as if she was about to cry; but Yoh suddenly put his hand on her shoulder and smile.

"Don't worry, me and Tamao aren't afraid of you, and don't worry about getting a new mommy and daddy! We can be friends, and my mommy said that friends are like…your family, except with out a mommy or daddy!" Yoh smiled at her, and she smiled back. "So what's your…oh I forgot, you forgot your name…"

"Why don't we ask grandpa to name her?" Tamao asked Yoh.

"Nah, I don't wanna wait" Yoh put on one of his trademark smiled, then a light bulb lit above his head. "Hey Tamao! I've got an idea!"

"You think I should tell grandpa to fix the light bulb up there? It always turns on and off…" Tamao pointed to the flickering light bulb at the ceiling above Yoh's head.

"Let's call her…Anna!" Yoh grinned, and the two girls looked at each other.

"Why Anna Yoh?" Tamao asked.

"Um, it suddenly popped out of my head, I recognize that name, but I don't know anyone named Anna. Besides, doesn't the name fit her perfectly?" Yoh smiled at Anna, and she smiled back.

"Okay, my name then is Anna!" Anna smiled at the two and everyone started laughing happily.

"Now that you're our new friend Anna, I wanna give this to you!" Yoh removed the red scarf tied around his neck and tied it around Anna's neck. "It's a gift! My daddy said that it's nice to give gifts to your friends, especially if it comes from you!"

"Thank you Yoh!" Anna smiled and was very happy for the first time in her life; nobody treated her like this except for now. She had a new family, she had a new beginning, and she had a home.

From behind the door, Yohmei, Kino, and Mikihisa were standing there and looking at the shadows of the three kids.

"What do you think Mikihisa?" Yohmei asked his son. "They all seem to be getting along pretty well…"

"Yes, I think so too…" he replied.

"Something tells me, that when Anna has become an itako, an engagement will be at hand…" Kino and the other two left the three children to play and laugh and have a good time.

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"I remember that time we first met Anna" Tamao looked at the picture of the three of them playing together.

"You all look really cute when you three were three!" Jun said adoring the picture.

Anna and Yoh just smiled at each other and turned the next page.

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What do you think guys? I tried imagining Yoh, Anna, and Tamao in a chibi form, and they looked so cute, I wish I could draw the SK gang when they were 5 yeard old or younger, it seems so kawaii!

That's how I came up with this fic! I even did some research about Anna! Some parts however were made up, like how Anna got her name, how she got her red scarf/bandana, and how old she was when she was found by Kino. But I did read that her name was unknown after she was given the name Anna Kyoyama. The only thing I am unsure of about her was where she was found or where she lived, one said Asare, and the other said Mt. Osore; are they the same? I'd appreciate it if you guys found out for me, thanks!

Do you guys think they're a bit too smart for their age?


	9. A Question of Trust

Hey guys! I'm really really sorry if I was not able to update for the whole of May. I was busy because I had a summer soccer program, and I got the worst disease a writer could have (writer's block). I also found a site for those who need ideas or for those who have writer's block; check out my profile page for the site address of this idea generator. Hope you guys have fun with it.

I also want to thank those who reviewed my stories; it's thanks to you guys that I'm still writing this story.

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Page 8: A Question of Trust

It was awfully quiet in the inn this very day. Anna was not yelling at Yoh or telling him what to do

Manta: See, I told you it was dead quiet here! And look, there are three pairs of sandals in the door was, so that means that the two and someone else is inside the house.

Everyone else was standing near the door way puzzled.

Tamao: Let's go in, maybe both of them are just asleep

Lyserg: You may be correct Tamao. But believe me, if Yoh was asleep, we would hear him.

Pirika: It's too quiet, not even the spirits are talking

Horohoro: What are we doing standing here then? Why don't we just go in and find out what's going on?

Horohoro opened the door and started to go in, but Pirika pinched his ear and pulled him back out.

Chocolove: What if they're in there doing 'stuff' and they don't want to be bothered?

Some of them turned red, and some gave Chocolove a very nasty glare.

Horohoro: It's probably because they're in there bound up and gagged while some one else steals their stuff or threatens to kill them…

Ren: Impossible! This is Anna and Yoh who we're talking about here. The kidnapper/thief would've probably had their butts kicked by now.

Jeanne: It's true, but what if the person in there was a really powerful shaman?

Everyone's eyes widened as they rushed inside the house.

Tamao: Where do we check first?

Manta: Kitchen!

When they were in the kitchen, they saw someone sitting on the chair with his feet on the table. When they got closer, they thought the boy was Yoh, but they realized sooner or later that it was not him.

Everyone: HAO!

Everyone drew their weapons and tried to attack Hao, but Amidamaru suddenly appeared and stopped everyone from attacking Hao.

Amidamaru: Stop! He means us no harm.

Ren: What is he doing here then? And where are Yoh and Anna?

Hao: Relax, I'll explain everything. Yoh and I accidentally met up at the park while he was training yesterday. Like you guys, Yoh didn't trust me right away; but I told him that I had no intention of doing anything evil or whatsoever. I lost the Shaman fight and survived it; my only chance of winning it will be after the next 500 years. So in the meantime, I'll just enjoy my life right now. Yoh told me to stay at the onsen together with him and Anna. I agreed, but the only problem was, that when we arrived at the onsen, Anna didn't even want me in because she still didn't trust me. Yoh told Anna that he trusts me and that she should trust me too; but she didn't want to. They had an argument, so that's why neither of them are talking to one another."

After a few moments of silence, the group huddled in the corner, whispering every word they said to each other excluding Hao.

Manta: So what now? Do we trust him or not?

Lyserg: I don't think we can! This is Hao who were talking about!

Horohoro: But I think everyone deserves a second chance.

Jeanne: I agree with Lyserg, he may have some thing evil planned.

Ren: He may have been our past enemy, but I've learned from Yoh that people do change.

Horohoro: Why don't we just put it like this; we will befriend Hao and give him a chance, then we'll decide whether to trust him or not.

Chocolove: Not a bad idea Horo.

Ren: Is the world coming to an end? Did Horohoro actually give us an idea we all agree on?

Horohoro: Hey I heard that!

Manta: So do we all agree? Manta asked.

Everyone knodded their heads and turned to face Hao.

Hao: Okay, so you all trust me?

Ren: Yes, but not as much as Yoh trusts you. But we're giving you a chance to earn our trust"

Hao: Sounds fine with me. So what're we going to do about my lazy brother and his stubborn fiancée?

Pirika: Maybe we should talk to them. Tamao, Jeanne, and I will talk to Anna; while Ren, Horohoro, Chocolove, Manta, and Lyserg will talk to Yoh.

The two groups split up, leaving Hao in the kitchen. The girls went over to Anna's room while the boys went over to Yoh's room.

* * *

Manta knocked lightly at Yoh's door, but there was no answer. He opened the door, and they found Yoh near the window listening to his CD's.

Horohoro: Hey there Yoh…

Yoh: Oh, hey guys…

There was a smile on Yoh's face, but his eyes show that he is a bit depressed.

Ren: What's with you and Anna?

Ren immediately asked Yoh; and slowly, Yoh's fake smile turned into a frown. After a moment of silence, Yoh began to speak.

Yoh: I trust my brother, but Anna doesn't…

Manta: It's nice that you trust Hao, but the problem is that he's not just your ordinary villain who wants to take over the world. Just how much do you trust Hao?

Yoh: As much as I trust you guys. I don't think he'll turn against us; and I don't think he's going to try doing anything evil.

Chocolove: That's your problem dude. If you fully trust him right away, he may take advantage of you! Trusting others right away is good, but very risky…

Ren: Besides Yoh, betrayal is common nowadays…

Yoh: …

Yoh looked down and away from his friends; he couldn't believe what they were saying, but come to think of it, it was true.

Lyserg: Look Yoh, we're not saying that you're not supposed to trust Hao. You can trust him if you want, but you still have to be cautious around him.

Manta: Some of us trust him, and some of us don't; take Anna for example. Maybe what we all need is time…

Yoh: "…maybe…you guys are right…

Chocolove: Of course we are!

Yoh: I can trust Hao, but not that much yet; I'll be cautious around him. At least until I think he really is worthy of my…of our trust…

Manta: That's good Yoh. 'Now our only problem is Anna…'

Manta whispered to everyone excluding Yoh.

Horohoro: We'll just leave you alone for awhile, ok Yoh?

Yoh: Sure

Everyone else left Yoh alone in the room so that he can think about this for awhile.

Ren: I wonder if the girls were able to convince Anna to trust Hao…

Chocolove: It's a good thing Yoh's understanding, I just don't know about Anna…

Horohoro: I'm glad I'm not in their shoes…

* * *

"Knock knock knock"

Pirika: Anna, it's us, can we come in...?

Pirika asked; but Anna didn't reply. She hesitantly opened the door and saw Anna in the corner table reading.

Anna: Who gave you permission to enter my room?

Jeanne: We just want to talk…

Anna: About what? If it's about Hao or Yoh, then forget it!

Tamao: But Anna, all of us are concerned about the three of you" Tamao said soflty.

Anna: And why is that? It's not your problem!

Pirika: It may not be our problem, but we're your friends, and we want to help you fix your problems. It's going to be a problem for everyone if you three won't fix this problem and make up!

Anna: So? How do you suppose you can fix my "so called problem?"

Jeanne: Well for starters, why don't you tell us the problem?

Anna: Hao is in the house and Yoh trusts him, but I don't…

Tamao: Well, maybe if you give him a chance…

Anna: Why should I? You three are starting to sound like Yoh!

Pirika: Everybody deserves a second chance Anna…

Tamao: Yeah…why don't you give him some time?

Jeanne: I agree with them. I used to hate Hao, but seeing as everyone else is giving him a second chance, I might as well give him one too…

Anna: …

Pirika: Anna?

Anna: Okay…give me at least one reason WHY I should trust Hao.

Tamao: He may have changed Anna…

Anna: The keywords are "may have"

Jeanne: At least there is still a chance that he will not turn against us…

Anna: Guys, betrayal is common nowadays; it is risky if you go trusting people just like that.

Pirika: …

Jeanne: …

Tamao: Do you trust Yoh, Anna?

Anna: …

Pirika: Well, do you?

Anna: Of course I do…

Jeanne: Of course you do…you are one of the people who truly trusts Yoh no matter what…

Anna: …yes…

Tamao: So if you say you trust Yoh with all your heart, then why can't you trust his judgment?

Anna: …

Pirika: Anna?

There was a long silence between the four girls…

Anna: How can I fully trust somebody such as Hao?

Jeanne: You don't really have to fully trust him just yet. Give him sometime, and little by little, he and you might actually become good friends.

Pirika: Jeanne's right, just be cautious around him, at least until he and you will earn each others trust.

Anna: I have to admit…I probably wasn't thinking straight when he first stepped foot in this house.

The other three girls tired to hold their giggles; Anna wasn't thinking straight? This was new. They stopped giggling when Anna gave them a glare.

Tamao: Okay Anna…we'll leave you alone for awhile ok?

Pirika: Don't be too hard on Yoh…

Anna: Sure…

With that, the three girls left the room, leaving Anna alone to think about it.

Jeanne: That was tough…

The three girls left the area and went in the living room where everyone else was.

Hao: So, how did it go?

Horohoro: Our talk with Yoh was ok…what about you three girls?

Tamao: It was tough trying to convince Anna…

Chocolove: Glad I'm not a girl!

Pirika: What did you say?

Pirika started pulling both ears of Chocolove.

Jeanne: I think we should leave now…maybe they need more time…

Jeanne, Lyserg, Horohoro, Pirika, and Manta left the onsen.

Hao: Why are you still here?

Ren: I'm staying here for two more months. Jun is not here at the moment, and it would be a waste if I stayed in our big hotel room all alone…

Hao: I see…

Ren: Besides, Tamao, Amidamaru, and I need to make sure you won't do anything which will make both of us regret it later.

Hao: Fine…

Tamao: Guys, there's no more food in the fridge; can one of you get the groceries?

Hao: …why are you looking at me?

Ren: You get the groceries Hao.

Hao: Why should I?

Ren: Would you rather cook?

Hao: I don't cook!

Ren: Then get the groceries! In this house, there are rules; and the rules are that everyone has to do something useful around the onsen.

Tamao: Besides, you also need to prove to us that you can be trusted…

Hao: …

Ren: Amidamaru will go with you, just to make sure…

Hao: …give me the list…sigh…

Everything went by quickly and quietly; and before they knew it, it was already night time. Hao was given his own room, and Amidamaru was to watch him all night.

* * *

11:30 pm that night…

Yoh: Yawn…where did Tamao put the milk…

He searched the refrigerator for milk, to help him go to sleep.

Yoh: There's only three left… How could Ren finish that much milk in one day?

He suddenly heard light footsteps coming from the hall. It got closer and it entered the kitchen.

Yoh: …

Anna: …

Yoh: …Anna…

Anna: ...

Yoh: …about this morning…well…I'm…so…

Anna: Me too…I forgive you…

The two smiled at each other before leaving the kitchen. They both finally felt at peace, little did they know that they were being watched.

Hao: Finally…

Amidamaru: I'm glad that this is all over…

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"…I was wondering how you two made up…" said Jeanne.

"It was as if there wasn't even an argument in the first place…" Lyserg continued as they turned the next page.

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Oh yeah! I was able to finish the chapter where Hao makes an appearance! It may not be my best work, but I'm still proud of it! As for the origin of this fic, I got it from the idea generator I was telling you guys earlier. Check my profile for the site.

Now that this chapter is over, Hao will make regular appearances in my fic. Yey! Now I can continue writing again! Expect regular updates, now that I don't have writer's block!

If you guys are wondering why is the fic in a script like form, it is because the chapter contains only conversations, and very few actions.


	10. Cruise Under The Seven Colored Sky

Like I said in the previous chapter, I will try to update regularly. So anyway...on with the story that you guys have been waiting for. Read and review pls. I'll have the next chapter posted ASAP for you guys.

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Page 9: Cruise Under the Seven Colored Sky

"Whoa…" Horohoro and the rest of the gang stared at the yacht…the yacht of the Tao's.

The whole gang has been invited to go on a cruise, just for fun.

"How rich are you Ren?" Chocolove stared at the private yacht in amazement. There are only a few people in the world who have friends that own their very own yacht; not to mention more than one private plane.

"So, lets' get on guys!" Yoh was excited to go on the yacht, because he hasn't been on a cruise before.

The yacht started moving; It was already almost sunset, and there was a buffet set out for all of them. Horohoro drooled in excitement as he saw the wide selection of foods that he can eat. The boys excluding Ren, Faust, and Lyserg, grabbed a whole bunch of food from the buffet table. The girls on the other hand went to check out the rest of the big ship.

"Not bad…" Anna said as she observed the ship's surroundings.

"I'm glad that we got invited on this cruise!" Tamao said excitedly.

Meanwhile, the boys were stuffing themselves with food from the buffet.

"This is incredible!" Rio said. "The food here is better than my cooking!"

"It's also incredible that Ren has all these stuff" Yoh said as he stuffed the rice down his mouth. "And to think he stays in our house"

"I think I'm feeling incredibly sick…." Horohoro's head started aching.

"What's with you Horo?" Hao asked Horohoro, who has his head bent down.

"I think he is suffering from sea sick" Faust said as he examined Horohoro. "Is this the first time you've ridden a boat?"

"Yes…" Horohoro moaned. "I…think…I need to go…to the restroom…"

Ren pointed to where the rest room was, and afterwards, Horohoro dashed out of the room, and following him from behind was Faust.

"Hey Ren, where are you going?" Lyserg asked.

"I'm going on the deck" Ren answered. "I'll meet you in the games room if you're done eating…"

"Games room?" Chocolove said.

"Wow! Isn't there anything on this ship that you don't have?" Manta asked.

"I can't think of any…" Ren said before he left the boys. The gang felt like they were in paradise, but to Ren, this is just an ordinary everyday thing.

While Ren was walking along the deck, he saw a figure of a girl leaning by the rail, admiring the sea.

"Pirika?" Ren called out as he got nearer.

"Oh, hey there Ren!" Pirika said happily as she continued looking at the sea.

"Is this your first time to rid a ship?" Ren asked as he leaned on the rail beside Pirika.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"You seem to be enjoying it here. You're brother got seasick too"

"Really?"

"Yup, guess his stomach is not tough enough" both of them laughed.

The wind blew in their faces as the boat continued moving forward. The waves were crashing against the boat, and there were some birds flying above the boat.

"Hey Ren…"

"Yeah?"

"You…look nice when you smile" Pirika said, blushing a little. "I have rarely seen you smile…"

"Oh…uh…really?" Ren was hid is slightly red face from Pirika.

"Really"

Both of them tried to hide their blushes, but it was getting harder and harder every second they spent time with each other. Ren tried to get his mind to calm down and think of something else. When he looked up at the sunset sky, he saw something even amazing.

"Pirika look!" Ren pointed to the sky, and Pirika looked up.

They saw the sunset sky, but it wasn't just your ordinary orange sunset; the sky was painted with the seven colors of the rainbow. From a distance, they can see the sun setting below the sea. Above the sea, they can see red, and above it was orange. Yellow followed after, and a touch of green was next. The rest of the sky was covered in indigo and violet.

"It's…beautiful!" Pirika said as she looked at the sky.

"This is amazing" Ren said.

"This is may be one of the best moments of my life" Pirika said.

"Me too…"

It was both one of the best moments in their lives right now. Watching the sun set under the seven colored sky, and waiting for the twinkling stars to appear in the almost cloudless sky was great. What made it even better, was that both of them were able to see it in each others company.

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Horohoro jaw dropped when he saw the picture.

"So this is what you two have been doing…" Manta said.

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Yey! There were some people emailing me saying how much they like my fic, and I want to say thanks to you all, especially to the reviewers who reviewed my story. Finally, I was able to write something other than Yoh and Anna; maybe I'll be able to write Tamao and Horo next; or maybe even a Lyserg and Jeanne story. Like I said earlier, there are various couples in this fic, and even if the major couple is Yoh and Anna.

Honsetly, I am not a big fan of other SK couples; I am a YohAnna supporter. But I want to try to appreciate other couples of the story, so I will try to write them down. So for those of you who are YohAnna supporters, I hope you'll still keep reading my fic even though it contains other couples, so that we can appreciate other couplings as well.If not, you can just replace the two couples as Yoh or Anna.

I thought of this story when I was riding a plane leaving Hong Kong. It was already sunset, and we were nearing our destination. When I looked out the window, I saw the sky, and it had seven colors! I wanted to take a picture of it, but I realized I didn't have the camera with me. I was so disappointed; so to remember what saw in the airplane, I decided to write it in a fic.

Thanks again guys for supporting my fics! For those of you who are waiting for an update on spirit unity, I'm almost done with the next chapter, so just keep waiting guys! Don't forget to review and give suggestions! I also accept requests, if you have any; so don't hesitate to email me if you want to!


	11. Fool's April Joke

One more chapter up! How long is the story you say? Let's just say we're not even half way done yet.

Oh boy, just four more days before my school starts...Bye bye T.V., bye bye waking up at 9:00 habit...but it's not bye bye writing fanfics!

Guess what guys! I'm making a new story, so please read it too! The title is called "Arcessitor" and it's a Shaman King fanfic too! Remember guys, even if I create new stories, that doesn't mean I won't update this story any more. I mean, who would want to stop this story? Everyone keeps demanding for an update! hehehehehe!

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Page 10: A Fool's April Joke

Tao Ren walked up to the refrigerator to get a glass of milk. He opened the door and poured the milk in the glass…

"…? This milk doesn't look good…better throw it away…" Ren said as he dumped the half carton of milk into the sink.

When he threw the carton in the trash can, he could hear snickers from behind the door.

"Okay…who's there?" Ren demanded. The three laughing boys from behind the door revealed themselves. "What is so funny?"

"You dumped the milk in the sink!" Horohoro said while laughing.

"So? The milk had a greenish-yellow color; it has gone bad" Ren said. "I don't see why the heck you guys found it funny!"

"Because the milk didn't go bad..." Manta snickered.

"We put yellow and green food coloring to make it look like it had gone bad!" Yoh said before the three broke out laughing.

"What?" Ren yelled angrily.

"…and guess what Ren! That was the last of the milk!" Horohoro said in between laughs.

A vein popped out of Ren's forehead while the other three boys continued laughing. "April Fools Ren! Hahahaha!"

"Are you implying that I'm a fool for falling into one of your childish pranks?" Ren yelled as he tossed the three boys into the wall.

"Ouch…Come on Ren, can't you take a joke? Today is April Fools day!" Manta said as he pointed at the calendar; and today was the first of April.

"April fools is the day when people play practical jokes on each other!" Horohoro explained. "It's okay to play a joke on anyone at this day, as long as you say 'April Fool' at the end of the joke!"

"…I have no time for such childish holidays. I have never celebrated it anyway!" Ren said.

"Come on Ren! You might enjoy it!" Yoh said as he grinned at Ren.

"How can I enjoy such a holiday if you play all the pranks on me?" Ren asked loudly.

"Well…let's just say you're not the only one who we played a practical joke on…" Horohoro said laughing; and sooner later, they heard some very loud and angry stomps going down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"OKAY! WHO DID THIS?" Hao angrily yelled pointing at his face.

Somebody drew glasses, a moustache, a beard, a jester hat, a clown, and a pig on his face. The four boys couldn't help but fall on the ground laughing.

"April Fools Hao!" Yoh said in between laughs. "See Ren, I told you that you'll enjoy this!"

"This early in the morning?" Hao said angrily. "You guys are so childish!"

"Come on Hao, where's your holiday spirit?" Horohoro asked.

"Why didn't either of you wake me up?" Hao yelled at Spirit of Fire and Amidamaru. "You two are always watching me when I am asleep!"

"Well Hao, they told me not that it won't be good if I ruin this holiday by waking you up" Amidamaru answered.

Hao started walking out of the kitchen, "This better not be permanent marker!"

"Wait!" Manta stopped Hao. "I won't go to the bathroom if I were you…"

"And why is that?" Hao asked, but his answer came in a high pitched scream which came from the bathroom.

The five boys and their four spirits rushed inside the bathroom to find Tamao backing away from the tub.

"Who put a jack in the box in the tub?" Tamao asked nervously as she pointed at it.

The three boys laughed out loud before shouting, "April Fool's Tamao!"

"Is it this time of the year already?" Tamao sighed. "… and what happened to your face Hao?"

Hao explained that the three stooges made his face a sketch pad; he was referring to Horo, Manta, and Yoh of course. Suddenly, the bathroom door slammed open…

"Okay, why are you guys making all this noise at this early in the morning?" scowled Anna. "And what happened to your face Hao?"

Hao pointed to the three boys as a vein popped out of his forehead. He went over to the sink to wash his face, while Tamao tossed the jack in the box out of the bathroom.

"April Fools huh?" Anna glared at the three boys.

They all nodded hesitantly as Anna, Ren, and Hao gave them very cold glares.

Anna left the bathroom, leaving the 6 people there. "I'm going to get the paper…"

"Did you play a prank on Anna?" Hao was curious.

"Of course not!" Yoh answered nervously. "I'll be in big trouble if I did!"

"Yeah…" Manta continued. "Nobody would dare play a trick on Anna Kyoyama!"

"I didn't think so…" Tamao said.

"By the way, while I was on my way downstairs, I noticed that there was a bucket hidden on top of the entrance" Hao smirked at Yoh and the others. "And I did recall that she said she was going to get the paper, which is outside the entrance door"

The three boys looked paler than someone who has died. "Oh…no…" the three boys muttered together. They suddenly heard a splash coming from down stairs.

"This I gotta see!" Ren and everyone else rushed downstairs hurriedly. They found Anna standing in front of the open door dripping wet with a bucket covering her head, and her fists were clenched…really tightly.

"Uh…Anna…are…are…you…okay…?" Yoh asked hesitantly. Anna didn't reply or move just one bit.

"…Yoh…" Anna called his fiancée in a soft but really scary voice. Yoh obeyed and got nearer. "What is this thing on my head?"

"It's…a bucket" Yoh answered.

"Right…and what was it doing on top of this door?" Anna said while gritting her teeth.

"That was supposed to be an April fool's prank for Pirika…" Horohoro said as he cowered in fear from behind Yoh.

Anna slowly took the bucket off her head, not facing the two just yet. They wouldn't like what they were going to see in just a few seconds. Horohoro and Yoh looked behind them, asking for support, but then they realized that everyone was gone including Manta.

* * *

Meanwhile in the dinning room, Tamao was preparing breakfast, while Hao, Ren, and Manta were on the table, trying hard to ignore the yelling, the screaming, and the banging coming from the corridor. Manta felt sorry for leaving those two alone, but it's every man for himself whenever their up against an angry Anna Kyoyama. 

In just a few minutes later, after Tamao finished preparing breakfast, the yelling and banging stopped; then entered Anna, less angry at the moment.

"Where are…" Ren and Manta cut off Hao before he could say anything else Anna wouldn't want them to hear. They've known Anna for a long time, while Hao hasn't. The rules are that if there is anyone who says a word related to something she got mad about just earlier, everyone in a 10 meter range shall suffer.

"What were you about to say Hao?" Anna asked eying the three boys.

"Where are…" Hao tried to think of something. "…the plates? You can't eat without any plates in the table now can you?"

Ren, Manta, and Tamao sighed in relief; Tamao played along, "You're definitely right Hao, we can't eat without any plates!"

"…whatever…just get breakfast ready when I get back here…" Anna left the room to dry herself. Ren and Manta went out to look for Horohoro and Yoh. The two of them found Yoh and Horohoro at the backyard tied to a tree.

"Hey guys…can you get us out of here?" Yoh said sweat dropping.

"This is your entire fault!" Horohoro yelled at Yoh as they were untied from the tight knots. "You're the one who asked me if we can play a prank on Pirika!"

"My fault?" Yoh sweat dropped. "You're the one who placed the bucket of ice cold water on top of the door! I told you earlier that we were supposed to set a trap by the gate, not on top of the door!"

"Wait a minute…did you say by the gate?" Manta asked.

"I thought that trap was for Rio?" Horohoro asked. His second question which he didn't even ask yet got answered when he heard a scream by the gate.

When they got there, Pirika was squirming on the ground like a worm because she got trapped by a net.

"Uh…April Fools?" Horohoro crying anime style.

"HOROHORO!" Pirika's yell made most of the birds in the backyard fly away.

That morning after Pirika and Anna made an attempt to murder the ones who pranked them, the three boys decided to have a ceasefire. They had enough action for this morning, not wanting to get on the bad side of the other guys.

It was seven in the morning, and it was time for Yoh's daily training; and Anna wasn't going to go easy on him for what happened to her that morning. "200 laps around the neighborhood, and 5000 sit ups, pushups, crunches, chin ups, and sit ups" Anna said. "You said sit ups twice Anna…" Yoh said. "Then get to work on those 10,000 sit ups!" Anna commanded as the anime style crying Yoh went to jog the 200 laps.

It took the whole morning for Yoh to finish all those requirements, having only a 30 second break for every task he completed. By the time he went back in the house, he was so exhausted.

"Boy Yoh…I think we got on Anna's nerves…" Horohoro sighed as he wiped the dishes dry. "At least Pirika doesn't punish me that harshly…"

"Yeah I know…I'm beat…I think I'm going to take a nap…" Yoh dozed of on the table afterwards.

"The dishes are done…finally…" Horohoro got the step ladder and opened the cabinet to push the dishes in; and to his surprise, something gooey and white poured on to him. "Yuck! What is this stuff?"

"It's oatmeal!" Hao said while laughing.

"April Fools Horo!" Ren said as he and Hao both started laughing.

"That's funny; I thought you guys said April Fools was childish…" Manta said as he tried to stop laughing.

"We were just getting even…" Hao said.

"…and that sure felt good!" Ren continued.

"Whatever you say guys…" Manta sighed. All he knows is, he won't be doing anymore pranks anytime soon. Horohoro went to the bathroom to clean up himself, by that time, all the laughing had already stopped.

* * *

1:00 pm 

"You must be tired Yoh…" Tamao said as she brought Yoh a tray with fruits and tea. "Here have some…"

"Thanks Tamao…" Yoh said as he grabbed the apple and bit it. But it turns out that it wasn't just an ordinary apple. "Eww…this thing tastes like…wax?"

That was right; Tamao had replaced the real apple with a wax apple; "April Fools Yoh." Tamao smiled as she walked out of the room giggling.

* * *

2: 30 pm 

Hao looked out the window, "It looks like it's raining really hard…how am I supposed to go out in this kind of weather?"

"Here" Anna tossed Hao an umbrella that she found near the chair. "Don't forget the beef"

"Do this, do that…how does Yoh survive all your nagging?" Hao said quietly to himself as he opened the door. "Strange, it looks sunny outside, but it's raining"

Hao opened the umbrella, and a strange powder fell on him, "What is this?" He grabbed some of the powder and examined it closely. "…itching powder?"

"April Fools! Hahahaha!" Horohoro and Ren were on top of the roof with the garden hose.

"You guys are going to pay dearly for this!" Hao said as he started scratching his whole body.

"Looks like it's already taking effect on you Hao!" Horohoro laughed out loud.

"I'm going to take a bath…here!" Hao forcefully pushed the grocery list to Ren's hand. "If you guys don't get those stuff, then I'm telling Anna!" Hao slammed the door; so Ren and Horohoro rushed to the store.

* * *

3: 15 pm 

"Hey Manta" Pirika called.

"Yeah, what is it Pirika?" Manta replied.

"This package is for you" Pirika handed him a brown box. "It has your name on it"

"Yeah, I think it's mine" Manta answered. "But why is it here?"

"I passed by your house and I met your dad, and he told me to give it to you"

"I see…" Manta sat down and started opening the package. When he opened the lid, three snaked popped out of the box. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Hehehe, April Foos Manta!" Pirika stuck out her tongue and left the room. Manta realized that the snakes were springy toys just like the jack in the box.

* * *

3: 20 pm 

"Hey Horohoro!" their friend named Nick called out from the gate.

"Hey there Nick! How've you been?" Horohoro asked as he bent down to greet him.

"I'm fine Horohoro!" Nick said energetically as he squeezed the fox he was holding. "I brought Shido along!"

"That's great Nick!" Horohoro got Shido from Nick's arms. "Hey there Shido, how've you been? Did you miss me?"

The fox didn't reply to what Horohoro said; it puzzled Horohoro because Shido was always so energetic.

"Hey Horohoro…" Nick called out slightly grinning.

"Hey, is he sick or something?" Horohoro asked, then he suddenly heard ticking coming from the fox. "Hey…this isn't Shido…this is a…" before Horohoro could finish his last word, the "fox" exploded.

"April Fools Horohoro!" Nick laughed out loud, while the real Shido emerged from behind Nick, also laughing. "That was a doll Horo, and in it was a stink bomb!

"A stink bomb?" Horohoro sniffed in the air, and it smelt really awful. "Oh man, now I have to take a bath for the third time!"

Meanwhile inside the onsen…

"Achoo!" Anna looked outside the window. "Yoh, Nick and Shido are here! You better hurry up before Horohoro kills them!"

* * *

3: 30 pm 

"Glad I'm done with all my chores…" Ren said as he dropped the last grocery bag on the floor. He tried to remove his shoes but it wouldn't come off. "What the…?"

"Hehehehe…April Fools Ren!" Manta said. "Before you left I put glue in your shoes!"

"You did what?"

"Good luck removing them! Hehehehehehehe!"

* * *

4:00 pm at Britain…where Lyserg and Jeanne were. 

"Hey Jeanne…" Lyserg asked softly.

"Yes Lyserg?" Jeanne replied.

"This is for you…" Lyserg handed him a small bouquet of flowers.

"…Lyserg…this is so sweet! Thank you so very much!" Jeanne said trying to hide her pink face from Lyserg.

When she stopped to smell the flowers, water started spraying out of it.

"Hahaha…April Fools Jeanne!" Lyserg laughed.

"Not you too Lyserg…" Jeanne apparently heard the news from Anna, that the boys, Tamao, and Pirika, were playing pranks on each other.

* * *

7:00 pm 

Dinner was already being served, and everyone was eying everyone else. They checked their surroundings to see if anything was there; they checked if the food was not made of wax, they checked if their chairs aren't going to suddenly collapse, and everyone moved in a manned as if you die when you make a wrong move.

"You guys look stupid…" Anna said as she finished her food. "I'm going somewhere else where nobody is acting as if he or she were a spy"

Anna left the room, and still, everyone was eying each other.

"Nobody is going to pull a fast one on me anymore" Yoh said looking around the area.

"Same here…" everyone else said.

Dinner went by…quite strangely…because dinner itself seemed like a staring contest. Horohoro grabbed his two chopsticks, ready to hit anyone who tries to pull a prank on him. Manta was wearing his helmet, while Hao was clutching his plate as if it were a shield; everyone else became so paranoid.

"Yoh!" Anna called out, startling everyone else. "Someone called you in the phone awhile ago; I said you were too busy guarding your dignity"

"Who was it from?" Yoh asked curiously; he knew Anna was always serious.

"Somebody wants to see you" Anna replied, not taking her eyes off Yoh. "He wants to meet you in a building somewhere near Ren's hotel."

"Someone might be pulling a prank on us!" Pirika said.

Anna shook her head, "It's really important business, and the voice on the phone sounded serious.

"But what if it is a prank?" Horohoro asked suspiciously.

"If you guys think it is a prank, then why don't you all go?" Anna suggested.

"You're right, it's better of we all go so that no one can play pranks on anyone any more" Hao said.

"Right, let's get dressed and let's go, I'll have a car ready by then" Ren said as he dialed his cellphone.

"I'll stay here; someone has to watch the house…" Anna said.

* * *

9:00 pm 

"Are we there yet?" Horohoro asked.

"For the fifteenth time…NO!" Ren yelled. "Just fifteen more minutes then we're there"

* * *

9:30 pm 

Everyone got out of the car as Ren instructed the driver to pick them up when he calls.

"Darn traffic…" Hao whispered while they all went inside the building.

The seven of them went to the information booth where a man wearing a big hat was.

"Excuse me sir…" Yoh called the attention of the man. "My name is Yoh Asakura, and I was wondering if there was anyone here who was looking for me"

"Ah yes…" the man answered. "I think he is at the 50th floor of this building…you can take the stairs going up"

"Are you serious?" Manta asked. "The 50th floor?"

"Yes my little friend" the man answered pointing to the staircase.

"Well then, let's get going guys!" Yoh smiled. They proceeded to climb up the stairs.

* * *

Half an hour later, they finally reached the 50th floor, panting and huffing; they decided to take a rest by collapsing on the ground. 

"Finally…we made it…" Hao and the others found a door, and when they opened it, it led to a hall, a big empty hall.

A woman greeted them when they were all inside, "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Are you the one who called me here?" Yoh asked the lady. "My name is Yoh Asakura."

"Yoh Asakura?" the lady mimicked. "Hmm…a yes, there was someone looking for you here just awhile ago…"

"So where is this 'someone' who was looking for Yoh?" Ren asked.

"Ah, yes…he is at floor B2" the lady replied. Their jaws dropped really low. "He was just here a minute ago, but now he's gone…"

"Why didn't you tell him to wait for us?" Pirika asked.

"I didn't know you were coming" the lady answered. "She just told me that she'll meet you at floor B2."

"If she went to floor B2…then how come we didn't see her?" Tamao asked.

"Probably because you used the stairs…" the lady said. "…and she used the elevator…"

"ELEVATOR?" Ren's voice echoed throughout the floor. "The man at the information booth told us to take the stairs!"

"Calm down sir…" the lady said. "Maybe you can talk to him when you're finished with your business here."

"Fine! We will!" Ren and the others walked away and proceeded to the elevators.

"I'll give that guy a piece of my mind!" Horohoro and the rest waited for the elevators to come up.

Before the elevator reached their floor, a sign on the elevators screen flashed, "Out of Order. Maintenance on going…"

"Just our luck…" Manta sighed. "Now we have to go down using the stairs…again…"

* * *

Several minutes later, they were able to go down the stairs all the way down to floor B2. 

"I'm all out of furyoku…" Horohoro huffed.

"You fool, you haven't even been in a fight!" Ren yelled.

"I know!"

"Guys…we're here, let's just get this over with!" Hao said.

Yoh opened the door, and once again, it was an empty hall, but dark and it was not as big as the one on the 50th floor. "Um hello, anyone there?"

All of the lights flashed open one by one, and all the darkness that was left in the room was the darkness surrounding the person in the middle of the room.

"Excuse me…" Yoh spoke up to the person in the middle of the room. "Are you the one…who called me?"

A moment of silence before the person spoke up, "Yes, it is I who called you here…Yoh Asakura."

The voice sounded very familiar, but they didn't know who she was until the last of the lights in the room flashed her.

"Anna?" everyone couldn't believe it. Then two people from behind her appeared; one was the guy from the information booth, and the other was the lady from the 50th floor. The two removed their disguises and revealed themselves as…none other than Rio and Jun.

"What's going on?" Ren demanded an explanation for all of this. "What are you three doing in here?"

"Well…Anna asked us to do her a favor…" Rio explained. "So here we are!"

"I still can't believe you didn't recognize your own sister in this disguise!" Jun laughed.

"So Anna…what's this all about?" Yoh asked.

Anna smirked before saying, "April Fools…"

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"That's good!" Jeanne said. "You made them run up and down the stairs for more than an hour!"

"I couldn't feel my legs the next day!" Manta said.

"Well…looks like Anna got the last laugh!" Yoh grinned.

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Wow! I got over 90 reviews! Thanks you guys!

This was an April fool's memory of mine, everything happened, except for the going up and down the stairs, and the stink bomb part. I hope you guys enjoyed this fic! The next chapters coming up real soon! So keep reviewing and reading! Don't forget to read my other fanfics as well! Like Sprit Unity! Don't forget to read my newest shamanking fanfic, "Arcessitor"


	12. Fractured

Another update completed! Yey! I was wondering, why I got only a few reviews in the last/previous chapter. Anyway, I am happy to announce that I got over a hundred reviews for this story!

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Page 11: Fractured

Horohoro slouched on the couch as he switched channels with the remote; unfortunately for him, the only channels that worked are the local ones. "Pirika! T.V's broken!"

Pirika peeked in the living room from the kitchen, "So? What do you want me to do about it? Can't you see I'm cooking? Why don't you go up to the roof and fix the satellite dish?"

"Why me?" Horohoro complained.

"…because we are the only two people who are living in this house!" Pirika answered. "If I wasn't busy, then I'd help you fix it!"

Horohoro lazily stood up and exited the house, but not before grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. He climbed up the roof using the ladder they had in the backyard. Horohoro looked at the satellite dish; he threw away the banana peel and started adjusting the dish. It seems to be okay, so why wasn't the T.V. working?

Tamao was on her way to Pirika and Horohoro's house, and then he suddenly spotted him on top of the roof, "Hi Horohoro, what are you doing up there?"

Horohoro waved back to Tamao, "Hi Tamao, I'm just fixing the satellite dish; cable's not working!" He slowly stood up and tried to get to the ladder in order to get down. Unfortunately for Horohoro, he forgot to throw his trash properly; so he accidentally stepped on the banana peel, causing him to slip and fall down on the slanted roof. He slid down the roof, and when he looked down, there was no more roof.

"AAAHHHH!" Horohoro yelled at the top of his lungs as he plummeted towards the ground. Tamao tried to catch him, but she was too far away; and by the time she got to where Horohoro was, he already fell.

"Horohoro…" a vein popped out on Pirika's forehead. "Honestly…sometimes you can be so stupid…"

Faust came in the room, "You're lucky you fell on a bush…if not you would have been in a more serious condition. You just broke your neck, right arm, and left foot…so you can leave the hospital after a week has passed."

"Okay…" Horohoro answered. His broken body parts were wrapped around in casts, and he was on a white bed; beside him were his friends who came to visit him.

"How exactly did you end up falling on the roof anyway Horo?" Yoh asked; he and Anna brought oranges for him.

"I slipped on a banana peel!" Horohoro's face steamed up. "Stop making fun of the way I ended up in the hospital!"

"I don't know Horohoro…" Ren said. "The way you ended up in the hospital sounds kinda stupid…"

"Hey! I said it was an accident!" Horohoro yelled. "Didn't you guys come here to cheer me up, and not to make me feel stupid and miserable?"

"You're probably right…" Manta thought. "But we're just worried that it might happen again…"

Tamao tried to speak up, "I…I think I'm the one to blame for his accident…If I had run faster, then I would have caught him, and none of this would have happened."

"Don't be silly Tamao…" Anna snapped. "It was his fault that he fell off the roof because he claimed that the cable didn't work. He probably just forgot to pay the cable bill…"

Pirika eyed Horohoro, "You did pay the cable bill, right?"

By the looks on Horohoro, they could all tell that he forgot to pay; great, just what he needed…another way to make it seem as if he was stupid.

Pirika slapped her forehead, "Next time Horo, leave the bills to me. You got me worried back there when you fell off the roof. Next time you go on top of the roof to fix the satellite dish, promise me you'll wear safety gears…"

"Yeah I promise…" Horohoro said.

"We have to go now Pirika…" Anna said. "The boys have not finished their chores yet, and Yoh hasn't finished his training yet…"

All the boys groaned as Yoh was dragged forcefully by Anna going out the door; the rest of the boys followed. Pirika and Tamao were left in the room with Horohoro, "Hey Tamao, aren't you going with them?"

"I'm free for the whole day" Tamao answered; but right before she was about to speak again, Horohoro's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Horohoro, are you hungry?" Pirika asked, and then his brother nodded to her. "Great…just wait right here, I'll get you food from the canteen. Do not, I repeat, do not touch the orange. That is mine!"

Pirika left the room and closed the door. Yoh and Anna brought him eight oranges; but now there is only one orange. Anyway, Horohoro and Tamao were left alone. They didn't talk that much yet, and their eyes wandered around the hospital room.

"Hey Horohoro, I'm sorry…" Tamao said remorsefully. "I should have run faster and caught you so that you wouldn't have been injured that much…"

Horohoro looked at Tamao's sad face, so he decided to smile to cheer her up, "Don't worry Tamao, it's not your fault, you weren't the one who slipped stupidly on a banana peel and fell of the roof! Hahahahaha! You should be thankful that you didn't catch me, because if you did, you would have probably gotten injured too!"

Tamao had blushed, her face was colored with a light shade of pink and looked away, "Umm, thanks Horohoro…"

Horohoro looked at her puzzled, "Huh? For what? I didn't do anything…"

"You cheered me up; I felt really bad because of what happened to you, but now if feel much better!"

"No problem Tamao; I mean, look at the bright side, people will be serving me food, no chores, no nagging…it might not be so bad being fractured."

"I guess you can look at it that way…"

"…and I have you guys to thank for making me feel better. Being alone with Kororo in the hospital has helped me cheer up; but when you guys came along, I became happier, even if you guys were teasing me on how stupid my accident was, at least it lifted my spirits."

"Really?"

"Yup! Right now, talking and being here with you makes me happy!"

"I…I didn't know that…"

"Yes. Didn't you realize that this is the only time we talked a lot about stuff?"

"Yeah, even if we see each other almost everyday, we don't talk that much…"

"Well, we're alone, and we can talk about anything as much as we want. While Pirika gets my food, why don't you and I talk just for fun? Get to know each other?"

Tamao smiled at the cheerful ainu, "Oh by the way, I also brought you an apple from a store I passed by awhile ago, you want me to peel it for you while we talk?"

"Sure! I'm starving!" Horohoro was happy at the moment, even though he was fractured; it felt good being with a friend and get to know her better.

Horohoro's leg, arm, and neck were not the only things that were fractured. The barrier between Tamao and Horohoro had been permanently fractured as they got to know each other better in the hospital. That day, the two of them learned that not all fractures were bad.

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"Who said nothing good could ever come out when someone was fractured?" Pirika was proud of his brother as he looked at the picture of Horohoro and Tamao happily talking to each other.

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Another chapter done! And this time, it's a HoroTamao fic. This fic is the beginning of Tamao and Horohoro's relationship, as friends first; but their relationships will progress. In case you guys are wondering, this fic is set before "Truth or Dare."

How did I get the idea of this fic? Well I ate a banana, and well, that's it! Weird huh? Please read and review guys! Read my other fics too! Read Spirit Unity and Arcessitor! You'll like them!

Guess what? My school has just started, but I will still try to update all of my stories. Hopefully, my school life and MMORPG life won't stop me from updating my fics!


	13. Just Another Typical Morning

Hello everyone! If you guys are wondering why it took me so long to update, well it's because of the piles of homework I had to do (all given of the first and second day of ordinary classes); and this time, no procrastinating or slacking off, because: 1. I have to learn how to more responsible, 2. I have a terror English teacher, 3. So many homework, so little time...wahhh...

By the way, Seventh Sanctum is the homepage name of the idea generator.

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Page 12: Just Another Typical Morning

Anna slammed the door open and went into Yoh's room, "Yoh, wake up! It's past 5:30 am!" Frustrated that he couldn't wake up Yoh, she grabbed his futon from underneath Yoh, causing Yoh to fall down on the ground.

"Ouch…Anna?" Yoh glanced at the clock that read 5:31 am. Yoh sweat dropped at grabbed his towel, afterwards running to the bathroom; he was late for training yet again. The consequences for being late were an additional one hundred km jog around the neighbor.

It was Ren's turn to cook today, "I can't believe it…why do I have to cook? Back in my house, the chefs were in charge of cooking!"

"Ren…I think it would be best if you learned how to cook, the more skills you learn, the better you become" Tamao said as she checked the refrigerator. Ren couldn't say anything against Tamao, for she was right on that one.

"Grrr…stupid tupid breakfast…" Ren growled; he tried cracking an egg, but it accidentally fell down and cracked on the floor. "Stupid tupid egg, stupid tupid hands…" He grabbed a bunch of tissue papers and wiped the floor clean; he tried to shoot the dirty tissues at the trash can, but it didn't come in. "Stupid tupid tissue, stupid tupid trash can!" Ren picked up the tissues and properly threw them in the trash can, when he looked up, he saw Hao sitting on the table, "Hey? What are you doing?"

Hao grabbed the milk and looked at Ren, "I'm drinking your stupid tupid milk that you got from the stupid tupid refrigerator using your stupid tupid hands…" Hao said in a mocking voice that copied Ren's accents.

"Are you insulting me?" Ren yelled pointing the spatula at him. "You'd better not drink my milk Hao! Get your own!"

Hao ignored what he said and drank Ren's milk in one sitting; "Sorry, but you were a bit too late shark head!"

Ren growled, "I'll get you for that next time, stupid tupid shaman!"

"Oh yeah, I would like to see you try" Hao crushed the empty bottle in his hands and threw it at Ren.

"Bring it on!" Ren dropped the spatula, and just in a matter of minutes, the two started fighting and rumbling in the dinning room. Tamao pleaded for them to stop, but what can she do? She was hiding under the table softly telling them to stop, she couldn't raise her voice to them, and she wasn't the type who does so.

Just then, Manta arrived and entered the kitchen, only to be hit by a flying bottle. "Hey guys, what the heck are you doing?"

"Beating up this stupid tupid shaman!" Hao and Ren said in unison.

Ren grabbed Hao's hair and pulled it in two directions, "Okay Ren, that's it! Nobody pulls my hair and gets away with it!"

"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP AND STOP IT!" Tamao yelled. She had emerged from beneath the table; and she gathered all her courage and pulled the two away from each other. Suddenly, Tamao returned to her normal self and blushed, 'I can't believe I just said that…and in such a strong voice'

"There she goes again…" Hao whispered to Ren, who just nodded back. They both scampered away from Tamao; Hao returened to the table, pretending to read the newspaper, and Ren returned to the kitchen. Manta who already got up went to sit down on the table; Tamao was mumbling and she was playing with her thumbs, still embarrassed from awhile ago.

Yoh soon entered the room, carrying his weights on his arms and legs; he sat down the table, followed by Anna, "So, what's for breakfast guys?"

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Ren yelled. "It's all Hao's fault!"

"My fault?" Hao said defensively; but before Hao could make a come back speech, Anna glared at both of them and told them to shut up. "You're a feisty one Anna…"

Anna looked away, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that!"

Breakfast was cooked, and all of them ate, with some arguments in between. Yoh jogged ran out of the house and jogged, Anna ordered Manta to clean the bathrooms, Hao to get the groceries, and Ren to mop the floors. Tamao was to water the plants, and as for Anna, she sat in front of the T.V. and turned it on.

8,9,10, 11 am…time passed by, those hours were called the quiet hours; but after 11:30 am…

"Hey guys!" Horohoro barged in the house and went to the kitchen followed by Hao, Pirika, Rio and Chocolove. Yoh came in shortly after catching his breath again. Horohoro's first stop in the house was the kitchen refrigerator, and/or the grocery bags. He got pulled by the ear by Pirika, the other boys would laugh at him every time he is in this situation.

"I'm glad you're here Rio…" Anna walked in the kitchen. "Now start cooking, Horohoro, help Rio, or else you're not eating anything in this house!" The two boys cried anime style as they started to get to work on the food. Chocolove, Hao, and Ren sneaked out of the kitchen and into the back yard. They would usually watch Yoh do push ups, sit ups, and all other sorts of stuff that Anna makes him do. They would sit on the roof and probably do stuff like play cards or board games.

"Full House!" Chocolove yelled loudly. "Oh yeah! I win the bet! You guys have to be my servants for the whole day!"

"That's not fair! You cheated!" Ren yelled loudly. "You can't have a king because I have three kings, and Hao has one!"

"Guys…ssshhh…do you want Anna to find us?" Hao said. "…wait a minute…how did you know I have one king?"

"I…uh…" Ren muttered.

"You looked at my hand! Cheater!" Hao yelled.

"What did you call me?" Ren yelled.

From below the ground, Anna looked up at the roof, "How long are you guys planning to stay there?"

Hao and the other two clamped their own mouths shut, "Get down here right now! You better not make me come up there, or else!"

Ren and Chocolove immediately got off the roof and rushed into the kitchen. Hao calmly jumped off the roof and smiled at Anna, "I don't know how you do it Anna, making the toughest shamans such as I listen to you with no complaints."

Anna glared at Hao, "You'd better watch your mouth Hao…" Hao smiled at her and followed Ren and Chocolove in the house.

"Don't get mad at him Anna, he's probably just complimenting you…" Yoh said to her.

"Don't you have some push ups to do?" Anna asked Yoh.

Yoh cried anime style, "Why do you have to sit on my back while doing push ups Anna?"

"Because we need to put more weight on your back, the bricks that are on your back right now are not heavy enough. Now stop complaining and keep doing push ups, or else I'll have Rio sit on your back instead!"

* * *

After an hour, Yoh had finished his training, and now it was time to have some lunch. Horohoro grabbed Ren's food and gobbled it down, and Ren was looking forward to eating it.

"Grr…" Ren picked up his bowl half filled with rice. "You want somemore? Then here! Take it!" Ren tossed the bowl at Horohoro's head.

"So that's what you want eh shark head?" Horohoro grabbed his food, ready to toss it to Ren.

"Bring it on you blue haired porcupine!" Ren ducked as soon as Horohoro tossed his food, hitting Rio in the process.

Rio wiped his shirt clean, "Now you're going to pay!" Rio tossed his food at Horo and missed, hitting Chocolove in the process.

They tossed their food at each other and tried to avoid being hit by food; Anna on the other hand didn't like it, and she silenced all of them, once and for all. The clock struck one, and there ended the food fight, thanks to Anna and Pirika; just another typical morning activity in the onsen.

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"What was that all about?" Lyserg asked.

"Random pics…I guess…" Yoh answered. "Who would've thought that someone would take a picture like this"

"Whatever, lets just go to the next page, this thing bores me…" Ren said.

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Just a random thought, I guess…anyway, please please please review! I like reviews! My first random fic that came into my mind while writing my other stories. It's not as great as the other stories, but I just had to write a story (don't want to keep the reviewers waiting!)


	14. Disaster

Yes! I was able to finish this chapter! I'm glad you guys liked the random fic I posted earlier. I'm still trying to write as many chapters as I can write. You won't believe how much stuff I have to do every week; homework, quizzes, weekend soccer, MMORPG (Online role playing game), Saturday college review classes, and many more. Be glad that I am still able to update, oh well…better late than never…

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Page 13: Disaster

Yoh went back inside the house after jogging around the neighborhood 20 times; it has always been like that, even after the Shaman tournament, Anna would train him hard, but Yoh couldn't see why he still had to train now that there was no use for fighting anymore. Anna would always say that he can never be too careful, and the he should always expect the unexpected; it was typical of her to say that.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Yoh said while catching his breath. When he stepped inside, Horohoro sped across Yoh, mopping the floor clean; when Yoh turned to the next corner, he saw Hao carrying a basket full of clean clothes. He peeked inside the kitchen, and Manta was there chopping some vegetables. Everywhere he turned, someone was doing something useful, all thanks to Anna. The entrance door suddenly opened, and in came Ren with a lot of grocery bags.

He sighed at the sight of everyone working and doing chores; and to think, Anna was able to force Hao and Ren, the shamans who were once bent on world domination, to do these things. Yoh walked towards the living room, meeting Tamao along the way, who was carrying a box full of who knows what, but Yoh didn't bother to ask.

Yoh reached the living room where Anna would usually lie or sit down to watch her T.V. shows, which were mostly soaps. "Hey Anna, I'm done with the 20 laps…"

"Good, now clean the windows" Anna said decisively with out taking her eyes off the T.V. yet.

"What?" Yoh cried anime style. "Why can't I sweep the floor or do the dishes instead?"

This time, Anna looked at Yoh, "Pirika is doing the dishes and Chocolove is doing the sweeping."

Yoh sighed and finally gathered enough courage to ask her the question, "Hey Anna, why do we always have to do these chores everyday? I mean, can't you give us a break?"

"Didn't I already answer that question before Yoh?" Anna asked. "Where you spacing out again while I explained to you the answer?"

"No that's not it!" Yoh looked at Anna. "It's just that I still don't understand why…"

Before Anna could answer, Hao entered the room with his arms free from any laundry basket, "Hey Anna, I think Yoh has a point. I mean look at me, I'm the one who will reincarnate 500 years from now to try to win the Shaman tournament, and I'm doing some one else's laundry!"

"Yeah Anna…give us a break will you" Horohoro said as he entered the room along with everyone else. Apparently, everyone was listening to the conversation.

Anna turned off the T.V. and stood up to face them, "What are you all doing in here?"

Manta cleared his throat before speaking, "Well, we were mostly done with our chores, and we couldn't help hearing the conversation…"

"That was no excuse to interrupt my conversation with Yoh!" Anna yelled.

"Don't be too hard on them Anna, they didn't mean it…" Yoh asked seriously.

"They know better than to interrupt me by now!" Anna answered.

"But were now included in the conversation…" Horohoro said. "I was just thinking, why am I doing these chores anyway?"

"I think they all have a point Anna" Tamao said.

"Yeah I agree; I mean, it's not a problem for us if we help out around the house; but not all the time every time…" Pirika said.

"Besides Anna…" Yoh said. "We're the ones always doing the work around the house; all you do is boss us around and watch T.V. all day. You don't do anything at all around this house, and yet you're telling us what to do?"

In just a few moments before Yoh finished his sentence, his right cheek turned to a color of red after Anna used her left hand to slap him. Apparently, what Yoh had said awhile ago seemed to affect her so much, so very much.

"Why do you always have to complain?" Anna yelled, her voice mixed with emotions of anger and disappointment. "You think I don't do anything around this house?"

Everyone stood there dumbfounded; they had never seen Anna do anything around the house before, not yet at least. They didn't dare say another word, because it might earn them one nasty slap.

Anna angrily stomped her foot, and if the power of the stomp was doubled, it would have probably caused a world wide panic, "You're all tired of me nagging all of you, right? And you're all tired of seeing me 'watching T.V. all day' and bossing you around huh?"

By now, everyone stiffened up and tried to look away from Anna's deadly ice and fire glare. Nobody dared to move, but Yoh accidentally nodded his head slightly, not knowing what he was doing.

Anna finally calmed down a bit, but her voice and eyes were still filled with anger and coldness, "I suppose all of you think that way right? Well guess what, I won't be ordering you guys around anymore, I won't let Yoh do his training anymore, because I won't be here to make you guys suffer anymore!"

"What do you mean Anna?" Yoh asked hesitantly.

"Idiot!" Anna started walking angrily towards the door, and the people inside cleared a path way for her. She stopped at her tracks when Hao was at her left side, then without any warning, she slapped him hard, but not as hard as what she did to Yoh.

"What was that for?" Hao asked rubbing his red right cheek.

"Because you look like Yoh…" Anna answered. "and I think he wouldn't like to get another slap from me; and also because I felt like doing it." With that, Anna stormed outside the room, breaking three decoration plates in the process.

"Anna wait…" before Yoh could chase him, Hao grabbed him by the shoulder.

"I think she needs some time to cool down Yoh…" Hao said. "She'll be back later…"

"…And I'm not coming back until I feel like it!" Anna put on her sandals and slammed the door hard, causing a random vase to break.

"So what now…" Chocolove asked everyone else.

"Like what Hao said…she'll be back when she cools down…" Ren said. "That's how women are…" Ren earned half angry glances from Tamao and Pirika, with 'what did you mean by that?' written all over their eyes.

"Anna's not your ordinary 'woman' Ren…" Horohoro said.

"So what do we do now that she's not here?" Manta asked.

Everyone thought about it for awhile, and then Hao grinned widely…"Hey guys, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's have a party!" some of the boys said.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Pirika yelled angrily. "Anna just left the house and you're happy?"

"I think that's too mean guys!" Tamao said. "Are you actually saying you want her out of the house for good?"

"Yeah guys" Yoh said. "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"No Yoh, you got it all wrong…" Hao said. "Of course we want Anna back, we're not celebrating because she left the house. It's just that we don't get to do this often with Anna around…so why don't we have a party just to get our minds off Anna and her very bad mood."

"Well, okay…" Yoh said calmly. "Just for this night…I think…"

"Don't worry Yoh, it's only till Anna cools down a bit…" Horohoro said. "If she comes back earlier, we'll just make this party a surprise party!"

* * *

Anna walked down the streets of Funbari hill, three hours after leaving the onsen, "The nerve of that Yoh, what does he mean I don't do anything around the house?" She sees a can on the ground and kicks it away roughly. "Let's see what happens if I'm not around the onsen at all to do my own set of chores…this will be interesting…" 

The sky suddenly darkened a bit and it started drizzling, "Shoot, I left the onsen with out thinking of a place where I can stay." Anna quickened her pace in an attempt to get out of the rain. "I can't stay in a hotel, I can't go to Nick's house, and I'm definitely not going back to the onsen…"

She ran faster until she could she the corner, then all of a sudden, a red haired girl wearing a green jacket and blue jeans walked out of the corner and bumped into her.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Anna said as she regained her balance.

"I'm really sorry about that miss…" the girl apologized.

When the girl spoke, the voice sounded strangely familiar to Anna; and her aura was also familiar. Anna looked closer at the girl and they finally recognized each other.

"Oh Anna, it's you!" the girl said happily.

"Nice bumping into you again…" Anna said to her. "Perfect timing, I need you to do me a favor…"

* * *

"Oh yeah! Party!" Horohoro shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Music surrounded the entire backyard, and there was an all you can eat buffet set up, courtesy of Tamao and Ryu. There were no decorations except for the colorful Christmas lights to light up the backyard.

It has been 7 hours since Anna has left, and luckily, the rain stopped 3 hours before the party started. Yoh couldn't help but wonder where is she, or when will she come back.

"Hey Yoh!" Hao slapped his back playfully. "You're still worrying about Anna? Don't worry, she'll be just fine; she always manages…"

"But…" Yoh wanted to go look for Anna; then again, if he found her, who knows what nasty things will happen to him. "Oh alright…I'm sure she's fine…" Yoh formed a grin in his face and joined the others.

* * *

The girl opened the lights to her apartment, and she invited Anna inside, "Sorry if it's small, but I think it'll do…" 

"No problem…" Anna replied while she looked around the place. As long as she has a place to stay in while she cools off, it's all fine with her. "So you need help with anything?"

* * *

"That was fun, right Yoh?" Choco put his arm around Yoh's neck. "We haven't had this much fun since…well…now!" 

"Yeah, I guess it was fun…" Yoh said hapilly. "I'm beat, time for me to get some shut eye…"

Everyone had a great evening, but some of them couldn't help but worry about where Anna was. They all retired to their rooms; Pirika slept with Tamao, and everyone else slept in Yoh's room.

"Wait a minute!" Yoh exclaimed. "Why are all of you in my room?"

* * *

"I hope you don't mind sleeping on the sofa Anna…" the girl said softly. "…I wasn't really expecting you, and I only have one bed…" 

Anna adjusted herself in the sofa, "It's alright…at least it's better than sleeping outside or on the ground…" she pulled the blanket over her body and put her head on the pillow.

"Okay…good night…" the girl turned off the lights and retired to her own room. Anna looked outside the apartment window and wondered if they are all doing okay. She shook her head and mentally slapped herself, saying that she shouldn't care if they're all right now.

* * *

Next morning…oh…ahem…next day at 10:30 am… 

Yoh was still asleep, and so was everyone else in the house. He yawned and stretched himself until he was half awake. He felt strange today, because usually when he wakes up, he would feel drowsy, but not today…

Yoh quickly sat up and looked at the time, and it was almost 11. 'Oh no…Anna's going to kill me!' He scrambled out of the bed, but not before Hao grabbed his foot.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hao asked sleepily, still not loosening his grip on Yoh's foot.

"Traning, Anna, overslept, kill, Anna!" Yoh said as he crawled towards the door.

"Relax bro, she's not here, remember?" Hao said calmly. "She still hasn't come home yet…"

"I see…" Yoh started to relax a little, and at the same time, he started worrying about Anna.

"That's not like you to worry a lot Yoh…" Hao said. "Trust me, she's just fine…"

All of a sudden, they heard screams coming from Tamao's room. Everyone woke up all of a sudden and rushed immediately to the room to find out what was going on. When they arrived in the room, they saw Tamao and Pirika looking outside the window surprised and disgusted.

"Guys look!" Tamao said pointing outside the window. Their jaws nearly dropped when they saw the backyard; It was insect, cat, and rat infested. "We forgot to clean up the mess yesterday!"

"Shoot!" Yoh was sure that if Anna were here, he would be in big trouble. "Guys! Let's clean it up before Anna gets back!"

"There's no way I'm going to go there!" Ren said. "Besides, she won't be coming home anytime soon!"

"So what are we going to do now?" Pirika asked. "There's no way we're letting those things invite over more friends!"

"What do we do now?" Yoh said while he panicked. "Guys, we need a broom, a vacuum cleaner, an insecticide spray, and if possible, a dog. Let's go!"

* * *

"Don't you want to go home yet Anna?" her friend asked the itako. 

"…" Anna pretended to ignore her and continued reading a book.

"Okay…I think that's a 'no'…"

* * *

After an hour later, all the unwanted backyard guests have been disposed off thankfully. They all went inside rushing to the kitchen; they were starving because they haven't had breakfast since the backyard incident. Unfortunately for them, they were all busy with the mob outside that they forgot to prepare lunch. 

"This can't be happening!" Horohoro cried a waterfall of tears, and so did Yoh, Manta, and Chocolove.

"I'm too hungry to even wait for the food to be cooked" Ren complained as he grabbed his cell phone. "I'm ordering food, what do you guys want?"

"Ren you're my hero!" Pirika said happily, making Ren blush as he ordered Chinese food.

Hao sighed in releif, "Ok, while the food's not here yet, I'm going to the restroom"

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you…" Horohoro said softly. "It really stinks in there right now; maybe you should wait for 30 minutes."

"Horo!" Hao yelled. "I can't hold it for 30 minutes! I need to go now!"

"Go find a tree somewhere outside if you can't hold it in!" Chocolove laughed out.

"I am not uncivilized enough to use a tree!" Hao said. "I'm going to need a clip for my nose…"

Hao went to the bathroom after Ren put down the phone, "Food's coming here in 30 minutes…"

"What'll you do now Yoh?" Manta asked his friend.

"I'll listen to music in my room!" Yoh smiled lazily. "…and if I'm still awake, I'll go to sleep! Wanna join me Manta?"

"Uh…no thanks, I'll just read the paper…" Manta walked towards the door to retrieve the newspaper. When he looked down, not only did he find the newspaper, but he also found… "Bills…and all of them are addressed to Anna…"

Manta walked in and showed them all the bills. It was the first time Yoh, Ren, Tamao, and Hao saw bills; probably because Anna always pays for them, that's why she's out for the whole day at the last Sunday of every month. They also wondered where Anna gets all the money to pay for them.

"Ren?" Yoh and the rest looked at the Tao.

"…why are you guys looking at me?" Ren asked angrily. "You're right, I'm rich, but I don't have a single penny right now. I put the payment for the take out food on the Tao family's tab."

"So what do we do now?" Hao asked.

"We wait for Anna to get home" Yoh said simple.

"The question is…" Ren said. "When will she come home?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Horohoro asked. "We can handle things by ourselves without her. You said it yourself Yoh, she doesn't do anything but watch T.V., boss us around, and torture us."

"Yeah…" Yoh said. "…and I wish I had just kept my mouth shut…"

"Guys, take it easy…" Tamao said softly. "Let's just try to organize, then we'll probably be fine…"

A door bell was heard, and a delicious mouth watering aroma started surrounding the house. All of them couldn't wait for lunch; they soon forgot what they were talking about and started racing to the kitchen. Ren opened the door and took the delivery from the man.

Back in the kitchen…

"What's taking him so long?" Chocolove played with his chopsticks while waiting.

Ren entered the room carrying a few plastic bags full of Chinese food. "You guys are lucky that I'm around…what'll you do without me?"

"You're a real life saver Ren!" Yoh tried opening the box.

"Whatever!" Horohoro emptied the food in his bowl. "As long as I get to eat, no problem!"

* * *

"I wonder what they're doing now…" Anna walked along the streets thinking to herself. 'What are you talking about? They're probably suffering because you're not around…' 

"Hey Anna, are you alright?" her friend who was walking beside her ask.

"Yeah I'm fine…" Anna said. 'Ren's rich, so they probably won't be in financial trouble. Maybe they're better off without me; but we'll see what happens…'

* * *

"How could you guys be so stupid enough to forget to clean up the place?" Ren used the broom to strike a cat that was furious with him. "You guys only got rid of the pests! Now they're back because you forgot to clean up the place!" 

"…Yeah we know Ren!" Manta used a broom to shoo away the rats. "So don't rub it in!"

"Will guys stop talking and get the roaches out of here?" Hao said angrily. "That's it; it's gotten way out of hand…Spirit of Fire!"

"No!" Yoh grabbed Hao's hand before he could put Spirit of Fire into his sword. "If you use your power right here, the whole house will be burnt down; and Anna won't like it one bit when she gets back…"

Hao calmed down a little and looked around the place, "Fine…I'll just use this broom and pretend it's a sword…better?"

"Way better…" Yoh smiled, but it got wiped off when he spotted a swarm of insects heading towards his way. "This is obviously not our day…"

* * *

After 3 hours, they were finally able to clean up the garden, and get rid of any unwanted house guests. 

"Okay, the next time we have a party…" Chocolove panted. "Invite the exterminator!"

Hao hit Chocolove on the head, "Lame joke Choco…"

"Okay, I think you guys deserve some thing to eat after getting the garden clean…" Pirika said cheerfully, hoping to make everyone forget what they went through awhile ago. "So me and Tamao are going to the kitchen to prepare you all some snacks!"

"You're the best guys!" Manta stretched on the floor and tried to relax.

"Ok, while we wait for Tamao and Pirika, let's watch T.V.!" Horohoro reached out for the remote and turned it on; but the T.V. only showed blurry images that were impossible to watch.

"…I think the cable bill's due today…" Yoh rummaged through the mail and found the bill.

"This stinks, I'm going home!" Horohoro threw the remote away and stood up, but Yoh grabbed on to his leg.

"Hey Horo, remember what Pirika said?" Yoh reminded him. "You guys aren't leaving until Anna gets back…"

"When will Anna get back?" Horohoro yelled frantically. "I want to get out of here!"

After finishing his sentence, Tamao and Pirika came in the room, both wearing 'sorry' faces. "Guys, we're out of food, we used them all for the party."

"WHAT?" Horohoro couldn't believe what's happening. "No problem, we'll just order take out again…"

Ren started pushing buttons on his cellphone, but when he put the phone in his ear, the operator said, "_Sorry, but you don't have any more load. Please buy more prepaid load if you want to continue using our services. Thank you and have a nice day._"

"WHAT?" Ren put the cell phone back in his pocket. "Great, I'm out of prepaid credit…and I only get it once a week…"

"Well, not a problem…" Tamao said. "Just use the our phone…"

"Problem…" Yoh added. "Phone bill's due today, and I don't think this'll be enough…" He said showing the money he got from Anna.

"Well, you can use the phone in our house…" Pirika suggested.

"Your house is further away from the onsen!" Ren said. "What about you Manta?"

"My house is having the phone lines repaired…" Manta answered. "The storm that hit the town last time damaged our phone lines…"

"Don't you have a cell phone?" Hao asked.

"I do…" Manta answered. "…but my parents are using it right now…"

"Let's just buy food and cook it…" Yoh said. "So, what do we need?"

Tamao and Pirika looked at each other, and then at the boys, "We don't know what to get! Anna is the one who prepares the grocery list; and she's the one who takes note which ingredients are missing."

"Don't worry, we'll just improvise…" Yoh said calmly. "I'll run down to the grocery right now and see what we can get…good thing Anna gave me the grocery money before she left…"

* * *

Anna was just exited the grocery store, when she suddenly spotted a familiar someone. "Yoh?" 

Yoh suddenly stopped right in his tracks when he saw her exit the store, "Anna?"

She was still mad at him, so what did she do? She walked past him, giving him the cold shoulder. Yoh tried calling her, but she ignored it.

"I guess she's still mad…" Yoh tried to run after her, but Amidamaru stopped him from doing so, and said that she still needs time to cool off. "Right…let's just go in and grab the food…"

On the other corner, Anna gripped the grocery bag tighter; she was asking her self why she did that, she didn't even give him a chance to talk. "…just a little longer…"

* * *

Three hours have passed, and it's already 6:00 pm, and everyone was waiting for Yoh… 

"What's taking him so long?" Ren said as he played with the orange in his hand.

"Hey guys, I'm back…" Yoh said in a blank and empty voice.

"What's wrong Yoh?" Tamao asked.

"I ran into Anna, but she gave me the cold shoulder…" Yoh said. Silence surrounded the house, and not even the crickets are chirping.

"Well…I don't know what to say…" Manta scratched his head. "Maybe you should just forget it for the mean time…you can't force her to come home just yet, and you can't force her to…"

"Yeah just forget about it…" Horohoro added. "So what did you buy?"

Yoh sweat dropped and emptied the bag, and to their surprise…

"You brought oranges and potato chips?" Hao shouted. "Where's the meat, vegetables, fish, and/or RICE!"

"I'm sorry guys…" Yoh apologized. "I was thinking of Anna, that's why I forgot to think about what I was getting…funny right?"

"YOH!" Ren strangled him unmercifully. "I want real food! I don't want to go on a diet!"

"Hey, I brought real food!" Yoh said, showing him the oranges. "It's edible!"

"…But it's not what we want!" Horohoro joined Ren in strangling Yoh. "I want to eat rice!"

"I'm sorry!" Yoh tried to escape Ren and Horohoro's wrath, but his brother and Chocolove joined in the torturing.

"Everyone! Calm down!" Pirika tried to pull Ren and Horohoro away from Yoh.

"Try to relax!" Tamao pulled Hao and Choco. "At least we have something to eat! Let's just be thankful that Yoh didn't buy anything inedible..."

Ren stopped and thought about it for awhile, "Next time, we're going to leave Manta to do the shopping, understand!"

"Yeah, yeah...I'm sorry now let me go!" Yoh shouted. When everyone else let go, Yoh saw that his shirt got ripped. "Great...hey Tamao, can you sew this?"

Tamao examined the shirt, "Sorry Yoh, but I'm afriad that rip is too big, and I only know how to sew toghether little rips.

"Same here..." Pirika said sadly. "I'm sorry...I'm not as good at sewing as Anna..."

"It's alright..." Yoh said. 'It was my fault she left in the first place...'

* * *

"Anna, what's the matter?" her red haired friend asked. "You haven't been acting like yourself ever since you came back here…" 

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing…"

* * *

Yoh grabbed his robe from the closet and put it on, "Well, at least we had something to eat…now for a nice hot bath…" 

He walked going to the bathroom, but when he got there, everyone was standing there, looking at the empty hot spring. "Yoh, where's all the water?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me?" Yoh said.

"Aren't you the one who fills it up?" Hao asked.

"Don't look at me…" Yoh said. "I always do the dishes at this time…"

"True…" Ren said. "Horohoro would be busy with cleaning the kitchen, Tamao would be busy packing up the leftovers. Pirika would help Yoh do the dishes, Choco would put them back in the cabinet after Hao wipes them dry; I would be too busy helping Manta sweep the and mop the floor…"

"…so that means Anna is the one who fills up the hot spring everyday…" Yoh said.

"I guess so Yoh…" Manta said. "Let's just get the hose and fill up the tub…"

* * *

4 hours later… 

"That took longer than what we had expected…" Hao stretched while going to his room. "I just want to go to my, I mean, Yoh's room and sleep…"

"You took the words right out of my mouth Hao…hahaha…" when Yoh opened the door, he saw futons scattered all over the place. "…looks like we forgot to fix up the place a bit because we were too busy with the 'garden problem',"

"Forget it…" Manta said. "I just want to go to sleep. I don't care if the futon's all ruffled up and wrinkled…"

"Ok…good night…" Yoh fixed his "bed" and turned off the lights. 'Anna, when are you coming back?'

* * *

"Hey Anna, I think you should go back home…" her friend said. "If you're feeling that way, then you should go talk to them. Tell them that you do all those stuff around the house, but they just can't seem to see what you're doing." 

"No…" Anna whispered. "Just a little longer…I have to wait a little longer…Meril…"

* * *

Next Morning, at 10:00 am… 

"Yawn…ouch!" Yoh tried to stretch, but hurt his back in the process. "Ouch my back…"

"Huh?" Hao woke up and saw Yoh rubbing his back. "What's up with you?"

"My back hurts!"

"Uh, yeah…I can see that…"

Yoh stretched and moved around to get rid of his back pain, "There, much better…so, what do we do for today?"

"Beats me…" Hao lied down on his futon. "Anna's not here right now, so we get to do anything we want…"

* * *

"Morning everybody!" Yoh said happily as he, Hao, and Manta walked inside the kitchen. "So what's for breakfast?" 

"Oranges and chips…" Ren and Horohoro said in unison.

"Oh, yeah I forgot…" Yoh laughed out. "Well, let's enjoy what we have right now!"

Tamao suddenly rushed inside the dining room, "The plants in the garden are wilting!"

"Really?" Chocolove and everyone else went out to the garden to witness the sight of the almost brown plants. "Woah, what happened?"

"We forgot to water them, duh…" Ren said.

"Water them?" Yoh asked. "We never did any chores involving the garden…"

"Anna was probably the one in charge of watering the plants in the garden…" Pirika said to the others.

"Let's just water them right now…" Horohoro grabbed the hose and turned it on, but no water came out. "Hey, what's wrong with this thing?"

"…the water bill was due yesterday…" Tamao said.

"…"

"…"

"I can't take this anymore!" Hao yelled. "Ever since Anna left, everything started going wrong! What's wrong with us?"

"Chill Hao!" Yoh said calmly. "Look, we're going to be just fine. Let's just calmly think of what problems we have right now, and try to find a solution to fix it. Everything's going to be alright!"

* * *

2 days later… 

"Okay, everything's not alright!" Yoh yelled. The fridge was empty, the house was lightless (because they still haven't paid the electric bills), and they were running out of oranges, money, candles and patience. Manta brought over food, but it was not enough to feed the "hungry", because his family needed the food for a business luncheon. The servants only go shopping strictly twice a week.

Pirika and Horohoro tried to help out around the onsen, but it was still a disaster because everything was out of order, and they constantly keep forgetting to do things.

"What do we do now?" Yoh asked.

They all looked at each other, and then at Yoh, "FIND ANNA!"

* * *

Yoh stood against the wall of the grocery store, hoping to find Anna. Luckily for him, he saw Anna walking towards his way. "Anna!" 

She heard a voice, and it belonged to none other than Yoh. She approached him and glared at him, "What?"

He gulped and said, "Please, Anna, we need you back…"

"I thought you guys didn't want me bossing you around anymore. Besides, you guys seem to be having fine with out me…"

"No we're not Anna…"

"Okay, then why did I see you carrying a bag of chips and oranges? No doubt you're having a party, now that I'm gone…"

Anna walked past Yoh, but he grabbed her wrist. "Yoh, let me go!" Before she could slap him, he wrapped his arms around her. "Yoh…"

"Anna…I'm sorry…" Yoh said, not letting go. "I didn't realize that you also did your share of the housework. I didn't realize that you make us do chores so that everything around the onsen would be organized. I also didn't realize that you pay a lot just for the bills…although we don't know where you get the money…"

"…"

"Please Anna, I need you to come back. I'm sorry if what I said hurt your feelings, it just got out of my mouth, I didn't mean it…I'm sorry for everything, please come back…I miss you already…"

"I guess you learned your lesson; but I didn't realize you would miss me that much…"

"Of course I miss you. My day wouldn't be complete if I didn't see you…" Yoh smiled at her.

"I understand…" Anna said, holding onto Yoh's arms which were still wrapped around her. "…I'll go back…I'll go home…"

Yoh tightened his hug, "Thank you so much Anna."

From around the corner, "Aww...I'm glad you guys made up already…"

Yoh and Anna suddenly let go of each other and faced opposite directions. Yoh looked at the girl and suddenly recognized her, "Is that you Meril?"

"Yep, Meril Inugami here! Nice to see you again Yoh!" Meril said cheerfully.

"Nice to see you too!" Yoh said. "I never expected to see you again after the Shaman tournament incident…"

"I've gotten over that already…" Meril said. "In fact, I've regained a little of my Furyoku. When Anna stayed over at my apartment, she help me regain some more of my lost Furyoku."

"So that's where Anna was staying…" Yoh said. "I'm happy for you Meril; and I see Terra is doing well too." A ghostly figure of a green wolf appeared beside her.

"Okay, now that everything's okay with you two…" Meril said. "…why don't we go back to the onsen and celebrate!"

"Sounds fine with me…" Anna replied. "Come on Yoh, let's go…"

"Uh…Anna…" Yoh flinched. "About the onsen…"

* * *

"Woah…" Meril saw the onsen, but it was a little… "messy" 

There was screaming and yelling coming from inside the house. When Anna checked out the garden, the plants were slightly brownish, and the hose's nozzle went inside the house. Anna tried to touch the door, but it fell down before she even made contact with it.

Inside the house, a grasshopper jumped out the door, and the screaming got even louder.

Anna clenched her fists tightly, Meril stepped away for safety reasons, and Yoh…was going to get it…

"YOH ASAKURA!"

The screaming and yelling from inside stopped and a single plate fell from the cupboard before it broke into pieces. "She's back…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Idiot…" Anna punched Yoh from behind his head.

"Ow…" Yoh touched the back of his head. "At least we cleaned it all up…"

"You are such an idiot Yoh…"

"I may be an idiot, but I'm your idiot!" Yoh laughed his trademark laugh.

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How did you guys like it? I added a new character, and she'll be showing up in some of the chapters! She's Meril Inugami, yey! The character from Shaman King: Power of Spirits. She's also a shaman, but she didn't participate in the second round of the Shaman tournament because her Furyoku got drained by Yoh in order to save her from Zeobide. If you guys are not familiar with Meril and want to know more about her, just tell me, and I'll post stuff about her in the next chapter.


	15. All I Ask Of You

Success, another chapter up! It's not too long, but I hope you enjoy it, it's what you've probably been waiting for, for a very long time. Enjoy reading, and don't forget to review guys, I'm working hard on this fic because it is the first fic where I got over a hundred reviews. More stuff at the bottom, so read up! If you want to see your name on the next upcoming chapters, don't forget to read the announcement.

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Page 15: All I Ask of You

He looks out the window of his window and looks down at the busy streets of his neighborhood. Everything is back to normal, he does not need to train to get stronger anymore, because the only reason he tried to get stronger was to avenge his parents by killing Hao. Now that Hao is a part of his friends, he cannot help but think that revenge was useless.

He realized, did his parents actually tell him to kill Hao and kill others if necessary? No, he realized that they would have been very disappointed and hurt to see their son using and killing others just for them. They cannot come back once Hao was dead, so what was the use? Hao will do no more evil, so what's the purpose of him being in the X-Laws? Why was he still a part of the X-Laws when everything was all over?

Lyserg Diethel was continuing his studies in a university in Britain. He was the brightest student in class and next year he'll probably graduate valedictorian.

In his house, he was all alone but he was accompanied by his father's Scottish terrier and his loyal spirit Morphine. Today was special because he has invited the leader of the X-Laws, Jeanne, into his house, with out Marco or the X-Laws of course. Finally, he gets to spend time with his leader without the interruption of the X-Laws or Marco.

How did it happen? Simple, he saw walking down the streets. She seemed different, she only saw her out of the Iron Maiden sometimes, and that sometime is now. What luck for our dowser, for she was walking alone; he grabbed the opportunity to greet her a simple hello. That simple hello turned into a little "how are you" chat between the two of them, then it turned into a conversation which they were talking about until they arrived at the mansion of the Iron Maiden. It was a really huge mansion and they were both standing before a huge electronic gate. They started bidding bye to each other, but before she could enter, Lyserg took the chance to ask her if she wanted to go to his house, that is if she was busy or if she wants to. Jeanne smiled softly and nodded.

Today was the day; he heard a knock at the door and he greeted Jeanne. He led her through the house and into the garden. The house was very neat and orderly, and the garden was filled with beautiful plants and a fountain. Near the house, there was a table with two chairs. The other two chairs were put aside and there was tea and cakes prepared on the table. They sat down and talked with each other for awhile, eating the cakes and drinking the tea's in the process. Lyserg asked his maids not to let anyone interrupt them.

"So Lyserg, tell me more about yourself" Jeanne said as she sipped from the teacup.

"Me?" Lyserg asked soflty. "Oh there's nothing interesting about me, how about you Miss Jeanne?"

"Oh please call me Jeanne" she said. "I don't want to talk that much about myself. Would you like to change the topic?"

"Um…oh, I heard Yoh and the others are fine."

"Really? How about Hao?"

"Hao? I guess he doing fine too; I heard that he's actually earned the trust of everyone else in the onsen."

"I see. we had to leave a week after he came, so we really didn't get to know him."

"Yeah, well I really didn't want to get to know him that much anyway…"

"Why do you say so? He seems to have changed"

"Yes he did change, but I still can't forget what he did to my parents."

"Are you still mad at him?"

"No, I'm not mad at him now. I'm just mad about what he did to my parents way back when I was still young."

"Okay…anyway just give him a chance. Remember that you must forgive others if you want others to forgive you."

"Yes I know. Let's talk about something else."

Jeanne thought for awhile. "I have been wondering all this time, do you have a certain someone who you like like?"

Lyserg gulped. "A certain someone that I like like?"

She giggled at the way and tone Lyserg answered. "Yes, a girl probably? I wanna know, don't worry, you can trust me, I won't tell anyone if it's a secret."

Lysergs face slowly started turning red. "I, I, I was so busy with my studies, that I, I, didn't have time to, to notice girls.

"Well that's too bad" Jeanne pouted. She was expecting an answer from the dowser but she didn't expect this kind. "You know I'm a girl, does that mean you don't notice me?"

At this point, Lyserg's face was flushed. "Of course not Miss Jeanne…I mean Jeanne. It's really hard to not notice the Iron Maiden Jeanne out of the sarcophagus.

"Really now?"

"Really, I didn't know you were pretty…"

Lyserg and Jeanne widened their eyes. "Pardon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, but I didn't tell a lie" Lyserg said, his face's color started returning to normal.

Jeanne giggled and how Lyserg's been acting around her. "Well, at least I got to know you better. You're anxious and your face slowly turns red if you're lying, and you're telling the truth if you're calm and gentleman like."

"Gentleman like?" Lyserg asked. "Thanks for the compliment Jeanne…"

"You're very welcome." Jeanne said. "Well, I think I have to go now, it's starting to get late."

Lyserg got up and pulled the chair away as Jeanne got up. "Why thank you Lyserg, you're very gentlemanly."

Lyserg offered his arm to Jeanne, and she giggled a little before taking it. "Thanks once again for the compliment. Glad I could have you over for tea."

"I'm glad I could come, we should do it more often."

"I agree with that. So I was wondering, would you like to go out for some coffee next time?"

The two of them have already arrived outside the door. "That would be very nice, I'm looking forward to your next invite."

Lyserg dropped his arm gently and opened the door for Jeanne before she went out. "How about next Saturday then?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well if you see it that way, then yes."

"Okay, bye then. See you again next Saturday!" Lyserg waved bye to Jeanne and closed the door to his house.

Lyserg got up to his room and watched Jeanne leave from his window. Jeanne sensed that Lyserg was watching him, so he looked at Lyserg's window and waved at him. He smiled and waved back at her.

Somehow, she felt differently towards her. When both of them still hated Hao with a passion, Lyserg only saw Jeanne as a leader, a prophetess, a person who will help him get his revenge on Hao. Now, she sees her very differently, not only physically. She was a nice and caring person, and did he just ask her out on a date? What was this feeling that he had towards her? The feeling he thought he never had before and thought that he will never have ever again.

Jeanne also felt the same way; before, she saw Lyserg as a faithful and loyal follower who will help the X-Laws rid the world of Hao's evil. She got to know the sweeter and polite side of Lyserg, he was not the vengeful Lyserg who would do anything just to get rid of Hao, even kill. He was a very gentle person, and he asked her out on a date. She slowly started develop feelings towards the dowser.

It was a feeling that cannot be explained by words. It was something that neither science nor math can explain. They both wanted more of that feeling, the feeling that made them warm inside. The feeling that someone will always be beside you even if the world is against you.

"Love me, that is all I ask of you…"

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"Who could have possibly imagined that this is what you two have been doing while we weren't looking!" Horohoro said.

"What are you talking about? I just invited Jeanne over, no big deal!" Lyserg said.

"…Then you asked her out on a date…" Ren said, elaborating on the last word, making Lyserg blush. "So how did it go?"

"Shut up...You know, I can't wait to make fun of you when I see a picture of you and Pirika…"

"WHAT?"

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Sorry for the long wait guys, I'm really busy nowadays. I have to study for my college entrance exams which are coming up this August.

The title "All I Ask of You" is from the Phantom of the Opera. I couldn't help but put a LysergJeanne fic; another success by the way, I have written fics about all the couples I listed in my prologue. Yey!

By the way guys, I'm putting up a new section called, ask the characters section! Yey! Here's how it works, if you want to ask a question, just post a question addressed to the character whom your asking a question to while you're reviewing. You'll find a reply to your question at the bottom of the next chapter of the story. Note that I do not own the characters, and this is just for fun. So don't be shy! Here's a sample question from me:

Fr: shadow-voltaic To: Yoh  
Q: Hey Yoh, what is the longest time you've spent sleeping?  
Yoh: Hmm, probably 48 hours! Hehehehe, but I can't do that nowadays cause Anna's gonna kill me. If I was given the chance, I would do that, probably even longer! Hahahaha!

Fr: shadow-voltaic To: Ren  
Q: Why does your hair grow everytime you're mad?  
Ren: It does? I don't recall, if it does, it's probably natural. Hey! Why are you looking at my hair? Do you want me to poke your eye out!"


	16. Rhyme Time

Another chapter up! I'm glad you guys posted questions for the characters to answer. Yey! I'm so happy! I have to study hard, unit test week is next week and my college entrance exam is on September! Wish me luck guys! RandR!

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Page 15: Rhyme Time

In the backyard of the Funbari Onsen, Chocolove was working out. It was not typical of him to do so, but he probably just wanted to brush up and sharpen his skills and techniques. He thought that this will improve his chances of telling a joke where everyone would actually laugh. Yoh was still jogging, so he took this opportunity to use the backyard.

"We're still as good as ever Mic!" Chocolove said as he put down Yoh's weights. "Right, time to practice my new technique; the guys are going to like this one!"

He started gathering Furyoku in a shape of a sphere. "We have to be careful Mic, I still haven't mastered it, so it's very unstable…one sudden move and…"

The backyard door slammed open and came out Ren. "Hey, what are you doing out here?"

Chocolove got startled and distracted with the sudden noise. The Furyoku that he was holding suddenly got released and manifested itself as a tornado that spread around the onsen. The wind blew wildly and stopped seconds afterwards.

Ren looked around and everything seems to be normal. "What were you doing you idiot? Are you trying to cause a riot? That was a big technique, and you practicing it makes me feel sick. What the heck's going on here? My words keep rhyming, and why did you leer?

Chocolove answered that his technique was unmastered and it has a side effect. He only discovered now that the side effect would be that anyone who touched the wind would say rhymes the whole day. Apparently, everyone in the onsen was able to feel at least a slight breeze; and unfortunately for Yoh, he arrived in the house just as soon as the Furyoku ball of Chocolove exploded.

"Let me get this straight…" Ren said while his hair grew in size. "It has no cure, so how long do we have to wait?"

"Probably for the whole day, rhymes are the only things we can say. By tomorrow we'll be fine, approximately in the morning at nine! I just wanna know, who are the people who felt my wind blow?"

Ren listed the names of the people who were most probably able to catch the rhyming disease: "Yoh, Anna, Pirika, and Manta. Tamao, Horo, Meryl, and Hao."

* * *

The two went inside to explain the bizarre event in the onsen.

"Let me get it straight, 24 hours is how long we have to wait?" Yoh asked and Chocolove nodded.

"This thing that happened, whose fault is it? This event caused trouble and has no wit" Anna said. She is going to murder either Ren or Chocolove for this.

"Don't worry guys, just bear with it! Maybe our happiness will be lit!" Chocolove said.

"I hate rhymes…it's stupid sometimes…" Hao said. "It is annoying, and once in awhile it gets boring…"

Everyone sweatdropped, how are they going to survive a day only saying rhymes? Was it possible to run out of rhymes, let's wait and see.

* * *

"Yoh, your nap time is over, so get up" Anna said. "It's time to do a hundred hops!"

Yoh sighed, "But Anna can't I do something else instead? Clean the house or maybe brush your head?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Asakura Yoh. Now finish those hops and I want you to start low!"

"Yes Anna whatever you say, I will do and I will obey…"

* * *

"To lie down on the roof and do nothing at all…then afterwards I'm planning to go to the mall…" Hao waited for the sun to completely come out, so in the mean time, he enjoyed the cool morning breeze.

"Hey there Hao, watcha doing?" Horohoro climbed up the roof and sat beside him. Hao didn't answer because he was too busy enjoying the breeze. "Yesterday when you were asleep, I saw you drooling…"

Hao quickly opened his eyes, "What point are you trying to make? Are you making fun of me for your sake?"

"Yes I am, and I would like to add that while you were drooling I had a video cam."

"What did you say? Where did you hide it you stupid ainu gay?"

"A gay I am not, at least I don't lay around like a mut…" Horohoro jumped off the roof and stuck his tongue out at Hao and started running away.

"You're going to eat those words Horohoro!" Hao jumped off the roof and started chasing the Ainu. "I am going to make sure you don't wake up tomorrow!"

* * *

"I hate this day; it's your entire fault!" Ren shouted at Chocolove. "I hate your technique, and I wish right now you'd get hit by a lightning bolt!"

"Come on Ren, it's at little fun!" Chocolove replied. "Just keep rhyming, and before you know it the day's done!"

"…"

"Here let me show you! You might like it too!" Chocolove thought for awhile then a lightbulb shined above his head. "Oh Honey, you're so funny, you're like a happy bunny when it's sunny!"

"ellipsis…dot dot dot…" Ren said out aloud. "Choco, you're such a lame-o, you're head is like a giant sack of potatoes…"

"Hey! That wasn't nice! Cool down and eat some rice!"

"I'm going to kill you!" Ren's hair started growing as he threateningly points his weapon at Chocolove's nose. "I won't forget to torture your spirit too!"

"Is this the part where I start running away really fast? So that it is longer that I may last?"

* * *

The banging of Chocolove and Ren's feet could be heard from all over the house. Anna yelled at them and told Ren that he's allowed to kill Chocolove provided that he doesn't break anything.

Meril was drinking her tea and she watched Ren and Chocolove dash past her. Meril put down her cup before Hao and Horohoro ran past her going to the direction where Ren and Chocolove came from. While Meril was pouring some more tea in her cup, Yoh and Anna ran past her; Yoh tried running away from Anna because she wanted him to do push ups with one hand with Anna snd some bricks on her back. Meril held the handle of the cup and Manta dashed past her saying something about him being late for tutoring. She took a sip from the cup before Amidamaru and Bason quickly floated past her, she didn't know why but Bason seemed to be chasing Amidamaru.

Pirika came in and saw Meril sitting near the table facing the kitchen doorframe. "Hey Meril, what's up? Drinking tea from your cup?

Meril nodded. "Would you like to join me? I'm watching a motion picture movie. She put down her cup and Chocolove and Ren ran across the door frame.

Pirika sat down beside her after grabbing her own cup. "Sounds interesting Meril, please pass the teapot if you will…" Meril passed the teapot to Pirika, then Tamao sped across the door frame, saying to herself that she had to take in the laundry because it's starting to rain.

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"Hey guys, wanna hear another rhyme?" Chocolove asked, but everyone else just glared at him. "Uh, maybe another time?" Chocolove was about to say something funny, but then Ren poked his nose again.

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Hey guys, I was thinking of this story for quite sometime now, I just didn't have the time to write it. It was short cause I had to end it, I was running out of rhymes, but I hope you guys still enjoyed it! I like stuff that rhymes!

By the way, I promised that I'd post about Meril Inugami in the last chapter, and I forgot, I'm very sorry. So anyway, I'm posting it now. Warning for those who haven't played the game, it's a spoiler. So don't read if you want to find out for yourself:

Meril Inugami is a character that can only be seen in the PS2 game, Shaman King: Power of Spirits. Her spirit's name is Terra, it's a green wolf. She appears somewhere in the game when Yoh finally gets his oracle bell from Silva. Meril then suddenly appears (Anna becomes jealous, hehehe, cute) and she explains that she is here on training.

Fast forward, after Yoh's battle with Faust (hey guys, did you know Anna actually tells Silva that she loves Yoh, kawaii!), she accompanies Yoh and Anna to Izumo. After Yoh's training in tartarus, she insists that he and Yoh go shopping together and he had to decide quick or else Anna will catch them. Suddenly, Hanagumi appears and they are there because Hao has ordered them to test Yoh. They battle and defeat Hanagumi, who runs away in defeat. After Hanagumi runs away, a bunch of masked guys appear on the scene saying that they've found the vessel. Meril senses something strange and she is frightened by it. Ryo comes in to join the fight and when the boss is defeated, Meril starts having images in her head.

We don't see her again after the end of the Shaman preliminaries. All of Yoh's friends are invited back to the onsen for a party and before they leave for the shaman tournament.

Fast forward, as soon as they arrive in America, they start having recent encounters with masked henchmen each led by a leader, their goal: To capture Meril. She still doesn't understand why they wanted her.

They find out soon that a group called Force Millenium wants her because she is a tool for world domination because she is a Furyoku vessel. She is finally captured when force millennium uses their machine, Golem, to capture her.

Meril was gone, so Yoh and the gang have decided to search for her while Hao gives them advice on where to find her; Hao wants Yoh to get stronger and be a worthy opponent in the Shaman Fight.

They traveled to different places just to find her, and their journey was interrupted when they encounter a masked kid controlling the Tao family's kyonshiis. They beat the masked kid, but then they found out that the masked kid was Meril. They were surprised to see her, but then the leader of Force Millenium Vinuvall comes to take her away.

Back in the force millennium hideout, Vinuvall tries to erase all of her memories and tries to give back the memories she had before she met Yoh.

In the later part, Yoh was able to rescue Meril, and she told them everything she knew at least. They were all in a cave by the way. Meril says that she is an experiment, and she was the most successful one among the thousands because she could store a lot of Furyoku in her body. Her body would be used as a vessel in order to be the heart of an evil spirit named Zeobide. She was the only one who can control Zeobide's spirit, that's why force millennium wanted her. Yoh tells Meril that no matter what happens to her, she'll always be Meril, the friend whom they've spent time with. Meril was touched and he goes to Yoh to hug him to say thank you, bad timing…Anna comes in and mistakes that "act" for something else and goes to give Yoh her legendary left hand slap.

After the whole scenario, they go inside the cave to stop Zeobide from awakening, but they found out that it was a trap. Meril is imprisoned in Zeobide, and if they hurt Zeobide, they hurt Meril. Yoh then gets the idea to use the spear that they found earlier. The spear does not hurt human flesh, but it can hurt souls and spirits. When Yoh defeats Zeobide, Force Millenium, Zeobide, and the cave gets destroyed and everyone gets out safely (depending if you don't accidentally kill Meril). Because she was used as a vessel, she lost most of her Furyoku, making her unable to participate in the Shaman fight. Even if she wasn't able to participate, she still roots for Yoh together with the rest of his friends.

Phew, that was a long summary. I tried my best to make sure I don't reveal everything that happens in the game for those who were not able to play it yet. Anyway, thanks for taking time to read it, I hope you guys understand it. If it's still not clear ask me or Meril( SK Ask the Characters).

Shaman King Ask The Characters:

Fr: yohxanna4ever To: Anna  
Q: Hey Anna, when is your birthday?  
Anna: July 22, 1985.

Fr: Exploded Toilet Bowl To: Ren  
Q: Do you approve of people writing about you and Pirika in stories? What are your comments about that?  
Ren: I don't mind it if people write about me; but pairing me up with someone else? Horohoro and I fight all the time, so why pair us up?  
Chocolove: If you hate Horohoro so much, then how come I saw you and him h…  
Ren(covers the mouth of Chocolove while poking his nose): YOU SAW NOTHING FOOL! Where was I before I was rudely interrupted? (Tosses Chocolove out of the onsen as his hair shrinks back down to normal) Ah yes, about the pairings. I do mind it if others write about me and someone else, but RenPirika fics are okay I guess, they are written very nicely and they are able to capture my attitude and hers. Some plots are the same and some are different, but I enjoy reading these kinds of stories, especially when I get to kick butt!  
Yoh: Hehehe, why are you turning pinkish Ren?  
Ren(his hair pops out a vein and grows): What are you talking about? I'll forget you ever mentioned that…  
Horohoro: You mean you and my sister? I better not catch you making out…  
Ren: WHAT DID YOU SAY? I NEVER EVEN DID THAT YET! Anyways, why are you guys stealing my spotlight with your stupid interruptions? This is supposed to be "Ask the Characters", not "Annoy the Character Being Asked"

Fr: mystic shamaness To: Hao  
Q: I am a big fan of you my beloved Hao-sama! I love your face, voice, body, and most of all, your hair! (drools) Can I have your pants?  
Hao: O-O Uh, no you can't have my pants! But if you're a powerful shaman, I am willing to recruit you so that you can help me take over the world 500 years from now! That is if you're still alive! Hahaha!  
Anna: How many times do I have to tell you Hao? Recruiting followers and/or advertising on world domination 500 years from now is not allowed in the onsen!

Fr: Julie Akamori To: Hao  
Q: Why the f--- don't you ever cut your f----in hair!

Hao: Why should I? They all say I look hot and cool with my hair long(ask mystic shamaness and the other rabid fangirls…)! I can't give up my hair, do you know how hard I have to work everyday just to make it stay this way? The shampoo and conditioner I use for my hair's expenisive!


	17. How to Blackmail a Blackmailer

Guys, I'm glad you enjoyed my fics! I felt so happy that I decided to reward you guys with another chapter! Thanks for the nice reviews and suggestions! I'm glad you guys like the "Ask The Characters" section! Remember, if you want to ask them a question, don't be shy:)

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Page 16: How to Blackmail a Blackmailer

"Two ninety seven, two ninety eight, two ninety nine, three hundred…" Yoh dropped dead on the ground panting. "Done…three hundred push ups…in fifteen minutes…"

Anna looked at the stopped watch she was holding. "Not bad, next time we'll make it ten minutes." Yoh groaned and plopped his head back on the ground. It was only nine in the morning and he was just about ready to hit the sack. "I'm going inside to have a drink; you'd better be ready for crunches when I get back." She went inside the onsen allowing Yoh to rest.

* * *

She went to the kitchen only to find Horohoro rummaging the fridge again. "Drop that sandwich Horohoro!" The ainu immediately obeyed and meekly place the sandwich back in the fridge. Anna looked at the table and on top of it was all sorts of food that Horohoro got from the refrigerator, and everyone knew that whatever is taken out of the fridge by Horohoro is never heard from again, except for now. "How many times do I have to tell you not to take EVERYTHING from the fridge?"

Anna crossed her arms while waiting for Horohoro's reply. He took a small notepad and a pen from the top of the fridge and marked it. "Twenty seven times, and now this is your twenty eighth time. Sorry dude, I can't help it if I'm hungry, I'm a growing teen with a fast metabolism."

She sighed before glaring at him intensely. "Put everything back in the refrigerator, or else…" she tried to think of something. It won't work anymore if she told Horohoro that she was going to make him go on a diet. It certainly won't work if she chains up the fridge, because Horo will always find a way to break it. "…or else I'm going to tell Pirika that you skipped 20 kilometers of jogging this morning."

Horohoro gulped and immediately started cleaning up the place. "That's not fair! You're going to tattle!"

The itako grabbed two bottles of orange juice from the fridge before facing the ainu. "I am not tattling, I am simply blackmailing you."

"It's the same banana!" Horohoro said while returning the ice cream in the freezer.

"When you blackmail, you are tortured by the one who is blackmailing you so that information he or she is holding about a certain someone won't leak out to other people" Anna said to Horohoro before she left the kitchen and left him baffled.

Unknown to the both of them, a certain future brother in law was watching her. "Very interesting, perhaps it's time I do a little experiment."

* * *

Anna arrived at the garden with the drinks only to find Yoh sleeping on the ground. "Wake up, you still have crunches to do." She tried pushing Yoh to wake up, but he only flipped to his side. "Yoh, when someone comes here and battles you for your title, you'd better not lose or else." Her future husband just snored loudly at her sermon. "I am going to make you do five hundred crunches if you don't get up!" Yoh heard this and immediately sat up, if there's anything that the shaman king hated in the world, it was doubled training requirements.

"You won't drink unless you finish two hundred twenty five crunches" she set the other bottle of orange juice beside her and Yoh began counting.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…"

Ren just arrived and he proceeded to the backyard to see what Yoh was doing this time. "Two hundred twenty five crunches? It was just two hundred yesterday."

"I decided to add twenty five, and tomorrow I'm adding another twenty five" Anna didn't even bother to face Ren, she was just watching Yoh to make sure he doesn't skip a number; then she suddenly remembered something. "It's your turn to do the laundry."

"I was hoping that you'd forget, then again I shouldn't get my hopes up because you never forget" Ren said. "I think I'm going to skip my chores today, I have better things to do."

Anna glared at Ren and he glared back, but it was not as cold as Anna's. "You are doing the laundry whether you like it or not!"

Ren brushed of her glare and her warning and looked away from her. "I'll just tell that stupid Ainu to do it for me, I'll bribe him with a cookie or anything that is edible, I know he won't resist. Besides, what can you do about it? It doesn't matter who does the chores as long as the chores are done."

"Wrong Tao Ren, in this onsen it matters who does the chores" Anna said. "Everyone takes turns doing the chores here, those are the rules. If you don't do the laundry, I'm going to reveal to everyone something that you wouldn't like to be revealed."

"Oh really?" Ren smirked. "Try me."

"Fine" Anna looked at Yoh and gestured him to stop for awhile; the later was very thankful as he plopped down on the ground. "You were the one who did the laundry yesterday right? Which ones belonged to shark head?"

Ren's hair started growing again while Yoh thought and tried to remember. "The black sleeveless shirt, black pants, yellow long sleeved uniform, black shorts, white socks, red sleeveless shirt, and his underwear. Except there was this particular underwear he had which had pink teddy bear patterns." When Yoh remembered this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud while Anna tried to contain hers by simply smirking. Ren on the other hand was trying to hide his flustered face.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ren tried hiding it, but it was very evident on his face. "I didn't buy it, Jun gave it to me!"

"Why were you wearing it then?" Anna smirked wider than before, and Yoh laughed louder than before.

"It rained the day before yesterday. All my underwear were dry so I had no choice!" Ren's face turned redder than before.

"Do the laundry and I'll keep this little underwear thing a secret, understand?" Anna said. Ren nodded because if the two of them blab it out to everyone, Horohoro and Chocolove won't stop making fun of him till next year. "You're lucky we have a washing machine here, now move!"

Ren obeyed and went to proceed to the basement to do the laundry. "See you later Teddy Tao! Hehehehe!" Yoh laughed but only to be hit by an empty bottle of milk afterwards. "Don't you have some training to do?" Ren called before walking inside the onsen.

Yoh grabbed the bottle beside Anna and drank it, but he stopped half way when Anna grabbed it from him. "I told you that you can't drink unless you finished your crunches!"

"Sorry Anna, I forgot" Yoh laughed softly, he never knew that he could use Tao Ren and pink teddy bear underwear in the same sentence.

"Looks like you've earned yourself and additional twenty five crunches" Anna drank the rest of Yoh's drink and threw it away. "Start from the beginning, one, two, three…"

* * *

Anna retired to her room after Yoh finished his morning training; they were just waiting for lunch, then it's back to training again. The itako was just about to open a drawer, but she felt a familiar presence in the room. "What are you doing here Hao? Don't you know it's impolite to walk inside a lady's room without permission?"

"I am very aware of that Anna" Hao smirked and he walked towards her. Her hand left her drawer's handle and she stood up to face Hao. "I've observed how good you are in the art of blackmailing Anna my dear. You can manipulate almost anyone in the onsen and I've grown interested with that fact."

"What's your point Hao?" Anna asked immediately and plainly.

"I just wanted to do an experiment" Hao walked around Anna, not avoiding eye contact. "Let me give you a clue; when I'm successful with it, I would probably write a book about it entitled 'How to blackmail a blackmailer'."

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking are you?" Anna looked at Hao directly in the eye; but her icy glare was evenly matched with his fiery smirk.

"Have you ever been blackmailed before sis?"

"It never happened and it never will. If you're planning to blackmail me, then think again because I keep no secrets."

"Really now?" Hao knew that Anna was lying, and it was a signal for him to continue. "What do you call this then?"

Hao revealed his left hand which was behind his back, and he was holding a brown notebook. Anna looked at the notebook intensely and her eyes showed everything. Playing dumb with Hao was no use anymore since her reaction gave away everything. "I believe this is your…"

"Diary. Give it back Hao if you know what's good for you." Anna started walking towards Hao but he teleported to another spot in the room. She tried to bind him with her beads, but he was too quick.

"I assume that this is private and very important to you." Hao jumped back and teleported to the further end of the room when Anna got closer to him in order to avoid injury.

"Give…it…back…Hao!" Anna was now saying it in a dangerous tone. Hao was cornered and Anna attempted to grab her diary, but Hao just teleported behind her and held both of her hands together behind her back while pushing her against the wall.

"I don't think so" Hao said still not letting go of her. "I do believe this is perfect blackmail material."

"What do you want?" Anna muttered under her breath while her face was planted against the wall.

"Simple my dear Anna" Hao finally let go of her and he teleported to the other end of the room. "All you have to do is obey my every command. If you fail to do so, then I just might open this diary of yours and read it. Do we have an agreement?"

"You wouldn't dare Asakura!" Anna yelled dangerously. She realized that Hao wasn't bluffing when he slowly opened her diary. She stopped in her tracks and backed away. "Yes…"

Hao closed the book shut and smiled at her. "I'm glad we have an understanding. Here are the rules to my game Anna: Do not tell anyone about this and do not blackmail me. If you fail to follow the rules, then I'll just have to open this diary of yours, understand?" Anna nodded in reply, like she had a choice though. Hao smirked at her and walked to her side, not facing her. "Oh, and I want you to call me Master Hao, understand?" The itako nodded resentfully. "I can't hear you…"

"Yes Master Hao…" she said disdainfully. She swore that washing her mouth with soap was way better than this.

"Good girl…" Hao said as he slowly left the room. "I'll call you when I need you, chow!"

When Hao closed the door to her room, the itako threw a pillow at the door, wishing that it was Hao that she had hit. She knew this was going to be the worst day of her entire life after the Shaman tournament. How she wished that she could turn back time and hide the book somewhere where Hao won't find it. "Hao Asakura…"

* * *

"Alright! Time for lunch!" Horohoro sat down and the rest of them followed. He continued gobbling up the food as if there was no tomorrow.

"Slow down Horo, there's plenty more where that came from" Yoh laughed as he began eating his food.

"I have a joke! What do you call Horohoro's personal relative?" Chocolve asked. "A cow! Both of them have four stomachs, both of them chew with their mouth open, both of them smell bad, and both of them are _bakas_!" Everyone else laughed out aloud with an exception of Anna and Horohoro.

"That wasn't funny you Afro American idiot!" Horohoro laughed. "Get it? Afro-American?"

In the background, three big dots started appearing. "Looks like Horohoro and Chocolove have switched places!" Manta said.

"If both of them have switched places, then how come onii-chan still eats like a pig?" Pirika asked.

"I think he was referring to their sense of humor you brat" Ren said as he took another serving of rice.

"What did you call me shark head?" Pirika asked loudly. Ren and Pirika started arguing again and everyone couldn't help but laugh. "Let's just end it here, I don't want to make a fool out of my self by arguing with you."

"Fine!" Pirika pouted and continued eating. 'Stupid Ren…'

"I heard that piggy cow!" Ren said as he placed the food in his mouth.

"My bother is the piggy cow or whatever you call it!" Pirika stuck out her stuck out her tongue at Ren, but he just brushed it off.

"You're his sister and you're both related, which can only mean that the cow is also your relative"

"Chocolove said personal relative, which means I'm not related to a cow or whatsoever, so there!" Pirika had won the 'relative' argument, but Ren only replied by saying "Whatever…I'm done…" Pirika's head was now steaming, she swore that she was going to get that Tao later. Everyone was done with lunch already; time ran faster with Pirika and Ren's argument. "Don't forget Hao, it's your turn to wash the dishes today!" Pirika said to him.

Hao sipped the last drop of liquid from his drink before he spoke up. "I don't feel like washing the dishes today. Anna, be so kind as to wash the dishes for me." They all flinched with what Hao said earlier, he was crazy. All of them expected Hao to be slapped, thrown out of the house, or worse, have an early funeral, which meant the next Shaman tournament would have to be opened earlier than expected. Anna nodded and stood up to their surprise. "I didn't hear you say 'yes' Anna…"

Yoh observed that Anna clenched her fist really tightly and was gritting her teeth; she expected Hao to be a spirit by now, but another surprise came when Anna said "Yes…Master Hao…" Everyone swore that this was out of the picture and this was not normal.

Hao cheerfully left the room leaving everyone else with confused looks. "Hey Anna, what's up with…" Before Yoh could even finish his sentence, she glared back at him very coldly. On her eyes were written, 'Don't you dare say another word or else YOU will be the one who'll have an early funeral!'

Yoh gulped and shut up along with everyone else. They all silently put their dishes on the sink and left the room wordless. Yoh was the last one to leave. "Anything wrong Anna?" He asked with concern, but Anna just shook her head slowly. "Are you sure?" he asked once again and she nodded her head silently while washing the dishes. "Do you want me to help you?" Yoh asked lastly; before she could even reply, Hao's voice came from the other room and he said that she must do it alone.

"No it's okay, I can do it alone…" Anna said nonchalantly, Yoh sensed that there was definitely something wrong.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yoh asked and she nodded silently before he left the room, but not before glancing at her one last time.

* * *

"Nine hundred ninety eight, nine hundred ninety nine, one thousand…" Yoh stopped jumping and landed on the ground after tossing the jump rope aside; it was harder to jump because of the heavy set of weights that he wore.

"Good, now it's time to do squats" Anna said. It was the only thing in his training schedule that Yoh hated the most. Yoh groaned in reply, but he was immediately shut up with her trademark glares. "Fifteen minutes, starting…"

"Hold on a sec there…" Hao interrupted. Anna was gritting her teeth again and Yoh was too tired to even notice it. "It seems that the Shaman King is the one doing all the work. It will probably be better if both the king and queen will go through this trial together; you get what I mean Anna?" The itako knew what Hao wanted her to do, so she angrily threw the stop watch at Hao and went beside Yoh. "Fifteen minutes for Yoh and fifteen minutes for Anna, and it all adds up to thirty minutes."

Yoh couldn't understand why Hao was able to manipulate Anna with out being slapped. "Ready, start!" Hao signaled for the both of them to start. He looked at the stop watch and smiled. "I'll be back in thirty minutes, so don't you dare ditch this okay?" Hao went inside while Yoh and Anna started training.

"Not a single word Asakura, not a single word" Anna said dangerously, ignoring her fiancée's glances.

'Look's like Chocolove and Horohoro aren't the only one who switched places…' Yoh thought to himself as he continued counting.

"I heard that Yoh!" Anna yelled. "You've just earned yourself an additional 10 km in jogging!"

* * *

Anna walked inside the onsen after being sent out by Hao to run some errands. She walked inside Hao's room and saw him listening to Yoh's cd's again. "Here's your pants…" Anna tossed him his ironed and dry cleaned pants. "…and here's your pizza…" she dropped the pizza on the floor.

Anna was about to leave the room, but Hao stopped her. "Not so fast Anna. I didn't say you can leave yet."

She stopped dead in her tracks and spoke without facing him. "What do you want now?"

"Don't you mean Master Hao?" he opened the box containing the pizza which was still steaming. "I want you to feed me and give me a massage."

Irritated, the itako threw a random object that she randomly picked up at Hao. He caught it and threw it to the other side of the room. "You're not a baby, I do not have to spoon feed you. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"I was just kidding about the feeding part" Hao laughed. "But I certainly wasn't kidding about the massage and I didn't remember telling you that you could leave."

Anna turned around and looked at Hao dangerously. "This is getting annoying and stupid. How long do you plan on keeping this thing up? I am sick of this!"

"First of all, I plan on keeping this thing up for as long as I can. Second, I think I sense rebellion, which is not a rule in my game Anna. You know what will happen now don't you?"

A scowl came from her before she knelt down behind Hao. He smiled as he began eating a slice of his pizza. "That's much better. Did you know I read a page of your diary?"

* * *

Yoh just finished eating another orange and he threw the peeling in the kitchen trash can. When the peel was shot accurately in the trash can, he heard Anna scream which sounded like, "YOU DID WHAT?"

Her voice echoed in the onsen, so he decided to check out what was going on. Yoh silently went out of the kitchen and up the stairs to find out where she was and what was happening.

* * *

"Tone down will you? You'll make me deaf with your voice" Hao looked at Anna's raging eyes. "Don't worry, I only read a single page. Let me quote what I read, 'I'm glad Yoh took me out for a walk before he left for America, even though it was freezing cold that time…' That's the only page I read, now if you don't want me to read another page, I suggest that you do what I say."

Anna gave in to Hao's bidding. The only thing that she never wanted anyone to find out was the contents of her diary. Unknown to both of them, the shaman king was watching.

* * *

Seven o' clock p.m…

Hao grabbed his bathrobe and proceeded to the bathroom for a nice hot bath; Anna on the other hand did all of Hao's chores including the cooking. Her friends asked her what was going on, but she just glared at them in return.

Shortly before dinner, Anna retired to her room and lay down on her futon. She was whispering to herself saying that she was going to murder Hao when she gets her diary back. Enraged, she threw her pillow at the wall and slammed her fist on the floor. She was not going to stand being a slave of Hao. Not long after Anna pounded the floor, Yoh slowly slid her door open.

Yoh saw Anna lying down on the futon with her back facing him. He sat down behind her and took a deep breath. There was a long and awkward between them. "So, are you going to tell me what really happened?"

They both remained silent for a while, not realizing that ten minutes have passed. "You saw what happened awhile ago, what do you think?" Yoh was about to say "did you get blackmailed?", but Anna predicted this would happen and shushed him before he could even say it. "You know what happened, so you'd better keep quiet about this or else I'll make your training harder. If Hao finds out, he'll make my life more miserable."

"Do you want me to…" Yoh didn't even finish his sentence yet, but Anna ordered him to shut up and leave. She was too stressed and angry to even listen to anyone except Hao. Yoh obeyed and immediately left the room while Anna tried thinking of a plan to get back her diary.

* * *

It has been a week since everything had gone strange in the onsen. Anna was still taking orders from Hao and Yoh was still the only one who silently knew what was going on. Today, everyone was going out to help Yoh buy the groceries that were listed on the very long list that Anna made. Everyone was getting ready to leave.

"Hey Anna?" Yoh walked in to the laundry room because it was supposed to be Hao's turn to do the laundry.

"What is it? Don't you have stuff you need to buy?" Anna roughly tossed Yoh's shirt inside the washing machine and slammed the door closed. Hao may be the dominant being in the onsen right now, but Anna was still second dominant. "What are you waiting for? Get your butt to the grocery store!"

"Aren't you tired of Hao blackmailing you?" Yoh asked with a goofy smile planted on his face.

"I really enjoy being Hao's slave. In fact, it was the happiest week of my life!" Anna said sarcastically, angrily emphasizing on the positive words she mentioned.

"Really now?" Yoh laughed at her sarcasm. "So what is he holding against you? Your diary?"

"You seem smart today Einstein…" Anna turned the washing machine knob. "If you're going to make fun of me, you're going to earn yourself an additional 10 km in jogging. If you're thinking of getting my diary back, don't even try because Hao's going to find out and you'll get me in to more trouble."

"Too late, I already got it back!" Yoh held up a familiar brown notebook which was the cause of Anna's misery for the past eight days.

"But…how?" Anna slowly took her diary from Yoh's hands in disbelief. "How did you get this back with out making Hao sense you? I couldn't even get it from him without him knowing it!"

"Elementary my dear Anna" Yoh grinned as he started narrating his story. "As you know, you need a great amount of Furyoku to block your presence from Hao. The solution: Furyoku transfer. I fooled the others into lending me part of their Furyoku, I didn't tell them my true purpose because I didn't want you to get into a tighter situation. Anyway, yesterday night time while Hao was bathing in the hot springs, I snuck into his room while using all the Furyoku I had right now to block my presence. I finally got my hands on your diary and I was going to return it to you, but when I got to your room, you were already asleep from exhaust. So I decided to give it to you the following day."

Anna was at a loss of words right now. "Using furyoku transfer and blocking your presence from Hao is very difficult, yet you did all that just for me?" Yoh nodded his head happily. She felt so liberated that she couldn't help herself from giving Yoh a soft hug. "Thanks so much Yoh. I owe you one."

"No problem Anna!" Yoh said. "So how about reducing my training requirements in a quarter just for tomorrow?"

Anna returned to being her normal self. "I'll think about that. Now go to the grocery store! The stuff you need to get aren't going to come to the onsen by themselves you know! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do something…"

"Uh…okay…" Yoh and Anna left the laundry room. He went to the backyard to meet up with the rest of the gang while she went to the living room to meet her so called "master".

"Are you done with the laundry already Anna?" Hao flipped the remote in his hands and changed the channels. "In that case, I need you to sweep the floor."

"Do it yourself, Hao!" Anna said coldly. "For you information, I am not done with YOUR chores, and I want you to get up and finish them by yourself!"

Hao turned the T.V. off and smirked at her. "Getting feisty now aren't we? You should be familiar with the rules of the game by now Anna. You should always call me Master Hao and you shouldn't talk to me like that. If you keep this up, then I'll just have to take another peek in that diary of yours."

It was Anna's turn to smirk this time. "My diary? You mean this diary?" Hao stared wide eyed at the retrieved diary that Anna held up in her hands. "Game over Hao, it looks like there was an extra player in the game."

"Yoh?" Hao couldn't believe it before Anna told him everything Yoh told her awhile ago. "I see, my brother can be very smart sometimes. Especially when it involves his fiancée, I have to say I am very impressed."

"Okay, now that everything's settled, it's time for your punishment Hao Asakura…" Anna said in an evil and more than scary voice.

Hao smirked at her and ignored what she said earlier. "What do you plan to do about it my dear Anna? Do you think you can beat me? Let me remind you that I am more powerful than you."

"You are more powerful than me, yes." Anna held her beads and gestured to her right. "…but not without the Spirit of Fire." Hao's main spirit was chained up with Anna's beads.

"So? I can still beat you." Hao said slowly loosing his confidence. Anna revealed to Hao Zenki and Kouki who were also bound by her beads. "I can take a four against one match!" Hao's voice already showed slight fear.

"Who said it was four against one?" Anna revealed to her the other Spirits that were bound by her beads: Amidamaru, Bason, Tokageroh, Kororo, Mic, Terra, Ember, Ponchi, Konchi, and Morphine.

"Hey Bason" Amidamaru whispered to him. "How was Miss Anna able to tie all of us up with only one beaded necklace?"

"I'm a Chinese warrior, not a spiritualistic medium. Why don't you ask her for your self?" Bason answered.

"I'm really sorry Master Hao." Spirit of Fire and the rest of the spirits can't control their actions anymore because once they were bound by an itako's beads, it was their duty to obey unless they want to be sent to the other side.

"Did I forget to mention to you that I also learned a technique which will make the spirit's attacks hurt when they hit someone?" Hao was now slightly but not evidently shaking in fear before Anna.

Hao gulped and looked at the spirits. "I guess it's to late begging for mercy right?"

Anna closed her eyes and nodded calmly. "Five seconds…one, two…" Hao knew what Anna was going to do, so he ran away from her as far as he could possibly can. "…five!" She let her beads extend so that the spirits can chase Hao.

"You skipped three and four!" Hao yelled as he ran outside the gates and into the streets.

"I guess I'm bad at math then" Anna ordered the spirits to chase Hao and if possible beat him up, then bring him back to her for an even worse punishment.

"How can you be bad at math when you were one of the top ten students in math last school year?" Hao's voice slowly faded away as he ran away further.

"I'm bad at math when I start loosing my temper!" Anna sensed that the spirits have already caught up with Hao. She sat down under the tree and slowly reeled in her beads, expecting Hao to be at the other end of the line. "Allow me to write a sequel to your book Hao" she said to no one in particular. "How to kill the blackmailer who blackmailed you." She couldn't wait to release all the suppressed anger she had on Hao.

* * *

"Hey guys, where are our spirits?" Yoh asked.

"They were just here a minute ago…" Lyserg said.

"Anna must've called all of them" Ren said as the gang walked away from the store. When they turned to the next corner, they saw Hao being forcefully dragged to the onsen by their main spirits who were bound by very familiar blue beads.

Yoh gulped as he saw his brother lose his grip on a pole that he was holding on. "Uh guys, do you want to get some food before we go home?" Yoh pointed to the café on the other side of the road. Everyone nodded and they all walked quickly away from Hao.

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"So how was it?" Yoh asked Anna who seemed to be enjoying the pictures.

"You should try it sometime, it's a good way to release your anger" she answered his fiancée.

"By the way, where are Hao and Meril?" Tamao asked. "What's taking them so long?"

They suddenly heard the door open and close. Fast footsteps were walking towards them and they found out that it was Meril. "Sorry I'm late guys, my plane left an hour late. So did I miss anything?"

"Not much" Yoh answered her with a goofy smile. "Now the only one who's not here yet is Hao. Hey Meril, does this photo album belong to you?"

Meril shook his head. "I see, well why don't you join us then?" Yoh said as Meril came closer to look at the pictures in the album.

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I decided to make Meril come to the reunion too! Sorry if I'm not updating regularly. I wanted to write about this thing for a long time now! I got the idea because I saw a really embarrassing picture of me that my friend took. Good thing it was still in the camera, so I deleted it!

Just in case you guys didn't get Chocolove's joke. _Baka_ means idiot in japanesse, but _Baka_ also means cow in tagalong.

Anyway, "Ask The Character's" now has a "AAAAAAAAAAAA" border. I wanna thank you guys for making it a hit! You guys deserve it for giving me nice reviews! Yey! Oh and guys, please don't ask Horohoro a calculus questions. Someone emailed me a question for Horohoro which was a calculus question. Guys please, I'm not in college yet, so if you guys desperately have to ask those kinds of questions, limit academic questions to below fourth year. Actually, I don't encourage academicaly realated questions.

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Ask The Characters

From: nonesofar  
To: Everyone  
Q: If someone wanted you to do something and they can give anything to you what would it be?

_Yoh_: I dunno…uh…probably an i-pod!  
_Anna_: A T.V. with cable and more than five hundred working channels.  
_Tamao:_ I want, no wait…I…uhm…just a minute…well…uhhh…probably confidence…wait…does that thing count?  
_Horohoro_: An everyday, expense free, all you can eat buffet!  
_Pirika_: A gigantic wardrobe full of nice clothes!  
_Ren_: Something to prevent my hair from growing whenever I get mad. I'm already starting to develop thoughts about my hair being alive!_Hao_: Universal power!  
_Jeanne_: A new house! The X-laws made my old house into their official hangout!  
_Lyserg_: Probably a scholarship to any school I want.  
_Meri_l: The latest and most high tech camera! And if possible, I want it to be digital with a very high memory!  
_Manta_: Growth medicine!  
_Jun_: A book entitled "How To Control Your Brother Who Has An Anger Management Problem".  
_Faust_: Eliza! Alive and genuine!  
_Ryu_: The phone numbers of the cutest girls in the world!  
_Chocolove_: A-Z Encyclopedia of Jokes!  
_Hao's team of shamans_: Hao-sama's pants!  
_X-Laws_: New uniforms!  
_Patch Village Priests_: T.V!  
_Lily Five_: Money and fame!  
_Main Spirits_: Uh…prayers?

* * *

From: twentyone21  
To: Horohoro  
Q: If you were stranded on a deserted island with no food left, and only Pirika and Ren, who would you eat first?

_Horohoro_: Ren of course! I heard shark fin soup tastes good, especially when it's violet!  
_Ren_: Idiot, there's no such thing as a violet shark! I heard blue haired ainu sherbet tastes way better, so eat that instead!  
_Horohoro_: Really? Where can I find it? Because if I find it or see it, I'm going to eat it right away because I'm starving!  
_Ren _(holds up a mirror in front of Horohoro's face): Bon appetite!

* * *

From: Exploded Toilet Bowl  
To: Ren  
Q: 'WHAT DID YOU SAY? I NEVER EVEN DID THAT YET!' means, you ARE, but not yet right? evil grin And, the more you guys fight (you and Horo), the more we think you guys are a pair! Yay! HoroRen all the way!

_Ren_: What are you talking about? Horohoro and I a pair? What are you, nuts? There's no way I'd allow anyone to pair me up with that idiot ainu pig! Honsetly, I prefer being with that bratty sister of his! Uh…forget I ever said that…I MEAN IT!

* * *

From: Andrea Nefisto  
  
To: Hao-sama  
Q: Oh Hao sama! I love you hair! I adore it! Mwahahaha (evil laugh, now I become serious) Well, see, the thing is, what shampoo do you use? AND, on the day that you get wrinkles, how many operations would you agree to get? Remember that the local anesthesia really hurts... Finally, how does it feel to have so many fans around the world? Don't you feel that you could lose your pants anytime? Cause, you know, we don't see you only as the cute guy, but also as the hot guy that has a lot to give (hahahaha, another of my evil and crazy-like-Faust laughs, and yes, that last part was in two-ways)

_Hao_: Ooookkaayy, another rabid fangirl, looks like someone needs to go to the mental hospital. Anyway, the brand of my (really really expensive and extra special) shampoo is a secret, because if they found out the brand, everyone will have the same hairstyle as mine (and you wouldn't like that now would you?).

Wrinkles? me? Impossible! But, just in case, I already have a "Hao's face when he was a teen" mask ready! If I could show it to you, you guys would probably think that it's my actual face (ripped off from my head). Operations are too expensive; but if I'm that desperate, I'll give it a go (probably more than seven operations). Who cares if local anesthesia hurts? I can take it!

I'm flattered (I think) with the many fan girls; but they can get annoying sometimes especially when they're trying to steal your "one of a kind" pants. I'm not afraid of losing my pants because they are secured tightly to my waist and I always carry a tranquilizer gun with me (just in case fan girls attack). Now back off before I fire this tranquilizer gun, I mean it!

To: Lyserg  
Q: When you met the guys in the manga, WHY ON EARTH did you have to TAKE OUT your pants in order to show them that you were a boy? God, if it was Hao, 'LORD THANKS FOR THAT BLESSING!' WITH SEEING HAO HALF-NAKED I COULD DIE IN PEACE! But no, Lyserg, it had to be you the one who took of the pants, well, why did you do that? Wasn't it enough to say: 'No, I'm not a girl, I'm a boy!' Wasn't it? Wasn't it?

_Lyserg_: Uh…I don't think they would still believe me if I told them I'm a boy and not a girl. Ryu and the others would only think I'm a tomboy so I had no choice! Really! It's not my fault my physical appearance resembles that of a girl!

* * *

From: OtakuNekoGirl  
To: Hao-sama  
Q: Ahem! Hao-sama ne Hao-sama! Ano... How does the line of the Asakura family except, Hana and Yohmei, keep their bangstyle I mean I've tried and I practically have the same length of hair as you and I've tried even the strongest of gels I tried level 12 and it does exist I even tried hair wax but I just couldn't get it! How do you guys keep you're gravity defying hair? You're the oldest so you should know and um just to tell you you're name means marijuana king. Same with your other name it means marijuana leaf kid lol.

_Hao_: It's a natural physical trait of all the Asakura males. Sometimes our bangs drop, so we use a very minimal amount of Furyoku to keep it "gravity defied". We'll do anything to make our hair look good. By the way, I didn't know that my name meant that. Congratulations on slightly impressing me with your knowledge about my name.

* * *

From: shaman-duelist  
To: Horohoro  
Q: Do you approve of Ren and Pirika being together?

_Horohoro_: They're together? I didn't…she didn't…he…why I oughta…! I certainly don't approve! I'm not going to allow Pirika and Ren to be together! Ren has to be nice to me first, but that'll never ever happen! Even if he's nice to me, he still can't be with Pirika! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bone to pick with a certain sister and friend! They are so going to get it!


	18. Who Stole My Gummy Worms?

Hey guys, I'm back from the other side and I was able to come up with this chapter after 2 years or more, yey! For the new readers, I hope you will like my stories. For the old readers (who knew this story existed 2 years ago and are still looking forward to its chapters), thank you so much for still reading my story and thank you for supporting me through reviews. I don't know if my writing style has changed or not, but please try to comment on that too. Constructive criticisms are also encouraged so that I know where to improve on (and those are different from flames guys...). Reviews, reviews, and more reviews, that would help me get back on track and keep me going! Also, please

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Page 17: Who Stole My Gummy Worms?!

"This was your emergency?!" the very frustrated Lyserg asked the Tao. "You had me fly here all the way from London just so that you can find out who ate all your Gummy Worms??"

* * *

Ren's milk and snacks supplies just ran out for this week, so he decided to visit the store that evening. Just when he was about to finish is shopping, he saw a booth not so far away from the counter. He took a quick glance and it read 'Half, Double, or None!', Ren shook his head and started to line up.

"Hey kid" the man called out to Ren, who was now eying at him annoyed. "Yeah you kid, how'd you like to play a game? I can make it worth your while"

"Hmph" was all that came out of Ren's mouth.

"Looks like you don't have guts to play just this one simple game" the man replied back.

"I do not want to waste my time playing your" Ren was even more annoyed now.

"You're just chicken kid. Afraid that you're gonna embarrass yourself because you lost a simple game? Chicken, scaredy cat, whimp…"

"Ok that's it! You've just crossed the line mister!!" Ren angrily stomped his way to the booth in front of the man. "I'm going to win this stupid game of yours then pound you to dust!"

"Pound me to dust, if you win kid" the man then pointed to a spinning game wheel. The wheel was divided into 17 parts, but there where three alternating choices: Half, Double, or None. The last choice was a single Try Again. "Here are the rules of the game kid, if you land on the 'half' or the 'double', then that's the amount that you're gonna pay for your groceries. If you land on the 'none', nothing happens and you can just walk away. If you land on the single 'Try Again', then that's exactly what you're gonna do!"

"So my bill will either double of be cut to half" Ren sighed and observed the wheel. "I don't really care what the outcome is, just let me spin the wheel so that I can leave!"

Ren then started spinning the wheel until it could spin on it's own. The wheel went round and round and it eventually came to a slow a few seconds later. Five seconds later, the wheel finally stopped spinning and the arrow pointed to one of the choices. "None…well, that was definitely a waste of my time" Ren picked up his groceries and headed once again for the counter.

"Hold on kid!" the man said while rummaging through the stuff behind the both.

"If you want me to spin that thing one more time, then you can forget it!"

"No, no, not that kid" the man finally found what he was looking for and took it out for Ren to see. "Here's a consolation price for you"

"What the heck am I supposed to do with that?!" Ren shouted pointing to the big jar of gummy worms. "Heh, I don't need that thing, so keep it!"

"Come on kid, it's the rule!" the man sighed out loud. "If you land on the nothing, you get a free jar of gummy worms!"

"Then the name of your booth should've been 'Half, Double, or Gummy Worms'!! If you don't keep it, I'm going to stuff them in your mouth 20 at a time!"

"It's an advertisement thing kid! If you do not take it, I'm going to force you to take it!" the man stood up and a spirit suddenly appeared beside him.

"Stop calling me kid! I'm 15 for crying out loud! You don't know who you're messing with" It was just Ren's luck when he had to pick a fight with a shaman over a jar of gummy worms. "Bring it on! I'd like to see you try landing even a single blow on me!"

A crowd has suddenly gathered around them before Ren could merge with Bason. It wouldn't be good for the two of them to have a shaman fight inside a grocery store…it would cause a lot of injuries and property damage. "Fine! Give me those stupid gummy worms and leave me alone!" Ren took the jar and paid for his milk and snacks in the counter. The crowd slowly dissolved while the bagger put all of Ren's stuff in a plastic bag, save for the gigantic gummy worm jar. Ren eyed the smirking shaman angrily, "Remember, I know where you live…"

"No you don't!"

"Well…it won't take that long to find out would it?" And with that last comment, Ren took his stuff a walked out of the grocery store. "Bason, make sure you secretly follow him home and find out where he lives."

Ren was apparently serious with his last threat. In a few minutes, he was back at the onsen with his anger subsided. Apparently, no one was in the kitchen; nevertheless, the put all his groceries inside the refrigerator except for the jar of gummy worms. He sat down and set it on the table in front of him. He looked at the jar full of 200 gummy worms intensely… "I hate all of you…" The colorful worms lay inside motionlessly, unaware that someone now holds a deep grudge for them. "I bet it doesn't even taste good…"

He opened that jar with ease and took one gummy worm. "How I wish you were that man whom I wanted to kill so badly" It was one of Ren's ways to help him deal with his anger, as suggested by her sister. It was a good thing he was all alone or else people will think he was insane. Ren angrily bit off the half of the worm and chewed it harshly…poor worm.

After awhile, Ren's chewing slowed down a notch. He then ate the other half of the worm more calmly, as if he was savoring the flavor. 'Hmm…this thing isn't so bad' he thought as he swallowed the gummy worm. "Maybe just one more…" He then took another piece, and then another one shortly after. Soon, he was able to eat 10 pieces. "These things are good! It's definitely worth the trouble…"

Just when he was about to get another piece, he heard loud pairs of footsteps. "Hey Ren!" Yoh walked into the kitchen together with Horohoro, Chocolove, Hao, and Pirika. "Watcha got there?"

"Just a bunch of gummy worms" Ren ate one last piece and put the lid back in the jar.

"Wow! Can I have some?" Horohoro eagerly said. It also seemed like the rest of the wanted some.

"No"

"Huh? Why?" Yoh asked

"I said No…"

"But they're just a bunch of gummy worms…" Chocolove said.

"They taste good…" Ren then stood up and put it back in the cupboard. "Besides, you guys don't know how much trouble I went through just to get them!"

"I'm surprised Ren" Pirika snickered softly. "You went through lot of trouble just for a bunch of colored candy worms?"

"A lot of trouble trying to get rid of them!" Ren snapped. "I won it but I didn't want it. Then after a while, I decided that I wanted it so therefore I kept it."

"Huh?" the rest of the gang just stared at him confused.

"It's mine and I don't want anyone else eating it! Period!" Ren closed the cabinet door and faced all of them. "There are still 189 pieces left…if I find out that you people have been eating out of it, you're dead…"

With that, Ren left the room. "What was that all about? I just wanted a piece!" Horohoro sighed.

"It's just pride…" Hao answered. "Someone must've annoyed him into taking it and Ren lost the argument…"

That was the last time anyone ever saw the gummy worms, because the next morning…

Anna walked into the kitchen and saw Ren staring at the empty cupboard. "What are you doing?"

It took awhile for Ren to answer, much to Anna's annoyance. "Some one stole my gummy worms…"

"Get over it…they're just a bunch of stupid worms. One or two pieces missing wouldn't make a difference"

"But they got the whole jar!" Ren shouted to the empty cupboard just as Tamao and Manta walked in.

"What is he talking about Tamao?" the clueless Manta asked. While Tamao explained to him about Ren's gummy worm problem. A few minutes later, Horohoro and Chocolove walked in to the room puzzled.

"YOU!" Ren then rapidly stomped his way towards the two, he seemed to be in a pretty bad mood nowadays. "I told you to keep your mouth away from my gummy worms!"

"Huh? What? Wait…Me?!" Horohoro stuttered while being backed against a wall beside Chocolove. Just as Horohoro gained his composure, he gulped and realized what had happened. "I…it wasn't me I swear!"

"Yeah right!" Ren inched closer to him in an attempt to get the truth out of him. "You were the one who was most upset when I didn't want to share! You ainu pig baka!"

"Wait a minute!" Horohoro pushed Ren away. "Just because I eat a lot that doesn't mean that I'm not considerate! Knowing that you would kill me, I would've gotten only a few pieces!"

"Liar! You'd do anything just to get food!"

"Hey don't blame this all on me!" Horohoro raised his hands in defense. "For all you know, Chocolove would've done it to! I mean, he was with us in the kitchen yesterday and he also wanted a piece!"

"YOU!" before Chocolove could even give an angry nudge or glare to Horohoro, Ren used the tip of his hair and pointed it at Chocolove's nose. "I bet you took it! You scheming joker you! You're much of a pig compared to Horohoro, but you're still a pig!"

"Hey don't call me a pig…even though my afro looks like a wig! Hahaha!" Chocolove stopped laughing shortly after Ren gave him a 'SO YOU DID IT" glare. "It wasn't me I swear!!"

"This is just like a big joke or prank for you have Chocolate pig!" Ren grabbed the said pig's collar. "Making me the butt of your pranks is gonna get you killed!"

"I sw…sw…swear it wasn't me!" again with the stuttering, Chocolove sweat beads down his foreheads. "I would not even touch that jar knowing that you would be that mad!" When Ren was about to ask the killing question of Chocolove's interrogation, two burps were heard in the hallway. Everyone fell silent for a moment when Yoh, Hao, and Pirika entered.

"Our bad" Yoh and Hao said in unison while Pirika just slapped her forehead and sighed, showing to everyone that she did not do it. Yoh then laughed and put his hands behind his forehead "We just wanted to see who can burp louder, apparently this was a tie. Boy am I stuffed"

"YOH!" Ren pointed his finger to Yoh who replied with a 'huh'. Ren then let go of the air deprived Chocolove and proceeded to Yoh. "and YOU!" Ren looked at Hao who replied with a 'what?' "Where did you guys come from? And did I hear you guys say that you just ate?"

"Uh…yes we did" Hao looked away and ignored Ren's death glare. "So what, none of your business…"

"I don't suppose…you had something sweet for breakfast did you?"

"Yea…yeah we did" now it was Yoh's turn to look away from the interrogator.

"Hmm…you two seem to be hiding something from me" Ren eyed the twins suspiciously. "…Maybe it's because it has something to do with my missing GUMMY WORMS!"

"What?!" Yoh and Hao said together, but it was the younger twin who had to open his big trap. "Wait a minute. Who said anything about gummy worms? That was…" Hao had to cover Yoh's mouth before anything else went up, all the more making them look suspicious.

"So you ate all my gummy worms! To think I was suspecting Hao first, but both of you? I trusted you Yoh, but you had to break that trust by eating everything I had!"

"Woah, woah, slow down shark boy" it was Hao's turn to speak as the others watched intensely. "First of all, it's just gummy worms. Second, why are you blaming only the two of us? I mean, Pirika was with us too you know!"

"YOU!" Ren turned to Pirika while she attempted and failed to kick Hao in the shin. "So you ate all my gummy worms with those two! I wouldn't expect less from the sister of the pig"

"Okay that's just plain mean!" Pirika stuck her tongue out and tried to kick Ren, but alas, he dodged it. "I only knew about this gummy worm thing when I went in!"

"A likely story Pirika; you have been with those two, who have been eating my gummy worms all morning! You couldn't resist, so you had to take some! With the combined forces of you three, you would've finished the whole thing before everyone else woke up!"

"That's just absurd and ridiculous!"

"Come on Ren, cut us some slack" Yoh didn't seem to be affected by Ren's death glare, due to the fact that he was used to it already. "Hey Hao, maybe you should go tell them the truth. But let me warm you Ren, it has nothing to do with the gummy worms"

Hao sighed and took a small piece of paper from his pocket. "Yoh and I went to Starbox this morning, I didn't want anyone else finding out that I treated Yoh or else everyone would've wanted to be treated too, and my money doesn't grow on trees you know. We were about to leave the house, but we found Pirika in front of the door. Yoh told her where we were going, and he insisted that she come. So we all went to the new Starbox outlet to eat, and boy did we eat a lot. We are so much that we wouldn't even have room for your gummy worms! Here's the recite if you want proof!"

Ren scanned through the recite and found out that they really did eat a lot. Ren then looked at the Horohoro and Chocolove complain to Hao about not treating them to Starbox. "Silence all of you! Just because this is what your recite says, that does not mean that it is what you ate! You could've ordered all of them but…" And that was when all the noise and arguing had begun. Tamao and Manta acted as the peacekeepers, but they also got blamed for the gummy worm problem.

"ENOUGH!" Anna slammed her fist on the table and dead silence followed after. "Ren, just go buy another stupid jar gummy worms in the store! With your money, you should have no trouble getting it! And all of you, stop yelling at each other!"

"Now I know why you haven't said a word since now!" Ren spoke first. "…Because it was YOU!"

"Real mature Ren, jumping the blame from one person to the other"

"The only reason I have for that is because the culprit is YOU!"

"Stop saying 'YOU'! You're starting to sound like Soda Boy!"

Yoh then raised his hand, "Actaully Anna, it's So…"

"Zip it Yoh!" Anna snapped. "Are you looking for a fight Tao?"

"You don't want to admit it because you did it!"

"That's quite bold of you shark boy. So where do you want your spirit, in hell or in space?" Anna was nearing Ren who couldn't help but sweat and tremble. He may have a bad temper, but no temper beats Anna's. "I'd like you to repeat what you said one last time if you will…so that at least I won't feel guilty about sending your soul to eternal pain and suffering"

"This is getting us nowhere" Yoh came in between Ren and Anna. "Why don't we just do this is a logical and mature manner?" Everyone had to admit that Yoh was right, it would be easier to find out if they would use their heads instead of their mouths. "Just like what Detective Canon does in T.V!" This is the moment that everyone sweatdropped, but the stupid statement was true.

"Hey when we find the culprit and we are getting him or her to plead guilty or not like in court" Horohoro raised his hand eagerly. "Can I be the one who points at people and shouts 'Objection!'?"

"NO!" everybody said in unison.

"We need a detective then…" Ren pointed out. "Since all of you are suspects…I'm the one who'll pick a detective"

"What kind of detective would take a case to find out who are your gummy worms?" Hao can see that the only way to get out of this was to play along. "Why don't you just buy a new jar and make it easier for us all!"

"This is a matter of pride and truth! I will not tolerate such dishonesty!" Ren has then thought of the perfect person who too cannot tolerate injustice, and he is determined to get that person whether he wants to or not. This was the beginning of the Grand Gummy Worm Theft case.

* * *

"Okay…" Lyserg was getting a headache because of the jetlag and the stupidity of it all. "You could've just called another detective instead of getting one all the way from across the world. And why didn't you just BUY ANOTHER JAR IF YOU LOVED THOSE WORMS SO MUCH?"

"Like I said…it's a matter of pride and truth!" Ren replied with his arms crossed. The incident was only three days ago and he has sent his private jet to pick up Lyserg Dithel from England.

Lyserg sighed and took out his pendulum. "Morphine! Oversoul into the Pendulum!" The little fairy did as she was told and soon the pendulum started glowing. "Normally, I would look into the scene of the crime, search for clues, and all that stuff, like a normal detective would do. I would also do those in order to improve my skill, but not today. I'm tired, and most of us are shamans and know about the existence of shamans. So all I'm going to do it use the pendulum as a lie detector. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and if you answer with a lie, the pendulum will turn red. Don't try to disguise your lies because I can still detect it and it will make you look even more suspicious. So does everybody agree to this method?"

Everybody in the room nodded slowly. Lyserg then approached Yoh first and asked the first question "Did you steal Ren's jar of gummy worms?"

Yoh's answer was a "no", and the pendulum's color remained blue. Lyserg asked the question to the rest of them and not a single one of them lied.

"That's strange. I've mastered this technique already, there's no way I could've made a mistake" Lyserg looked at the other shamans and sighed. "There is a possibility that the one who took Ren's jar is not one of us. But then again, it's just a possibility, so we'll save that for last. Perhaps I need to ask a more detailed question." They all looked at each other and then back at Lyserg as he asked the next question to Yoh "Did you eat some of the gummy worms that were in the jar?" All of them told the truth, Lyserg was thinking that his questions weren't detailed enough. "Did you touch the jar at all?"

Then finally, there were confirmed liars to Lyserg and Ren's relief. Those who were caught lying were Yoh, Hao, Chocolove, Horohoro, Tamao, and Pirika. "Next question, did you really want the gummy worms inside the jar?" He asked those who were left, and the boys were the ones who were left. Lyserg was now getting close to the culprit, he was glad that his brain was still working at a time like this because of his jetlag. "Which of you were angry at Ren and had intentions of eating all of his gummy worms just to get on his nerves" When Lyserg asked this question, only three remained: Hao, Chocolove, and Horohoro

"This is preposterous!" Hao exclaimed angrily. "You still hate me don't you?" Lyserg did not reply, instead, he polished his pendulum.

"Then you go first Hao" Lyserg then raised his pendulum in front of Hao. "Did you open the jar?"

"I'm getting tired of this. Whatever the outcome is, I don't care, just get it over with. Yes"

"Did you dispose of Ren's gummy worms?"

"No"

"Did you taste Ren's gummy worms then put them back in the jar?"

"Eww, no!! Who would do such a thing?"

Lyserg asked the same set of questions to the three remaining shamans, but none of them were telling a lie. "I must be loosing it…none of them are lying. I must've missed something…Perhaps we should call it in for the night"

"What? No way! It has to be one of those three!" Ren pointed at the three. "I'm not paying you to find three suspects; I want you to find one culprit!"

"You're not paying me anything at all!" Lyserg shouted back. "Look, I can't think straight, that's what happens when someone calls me in the middle of the night in London and asks me to play Sherlock Holmes! If you want me to continue on for the night, I suggest you pay me."

"Fine, fine, just finish it already!"

Lyserg questioned the three some more, but it seemed to be getting less and less effective as the four of them were getting sleepy. Lyserg could not detect the levels of stress properly…probably its because its his own stress that he's been detecting. It was almost 12 midnight, but in the middle of the questioning, Lyserg has been detecting a large amount of stress from a certain somebody in the room. It was not Hao, Horohoro, or Chocolove, it was someone who he has missed. He has been observing that person ever since he felt the high stress level, now all he needed was proof. "Alright, that will be all for tonight"

"What do you mean?" Ren was already slowly falling asleep with the rest of them.

"I was correct when I thought that I had missed someone. Now I'm going to look around the house a little more. Everybody should go to sleep; I'll be retiring when I'm done"

Ren was too tired to argue, so he agreed do call it a day. Everybody returned to their respective rooms and houses while Lyserg searched around the kitchen more. "I should've done this from the very beginning first…" He examined the cupboard where Ren's jar was previously. The clues that he found were enough, he knew who the culprit was.

The next morning…

"Hey morning…" Lyserg greeted the culprit casually. The night's rest hit the stop, now he was in his best shape "Come with me to the living room, the others are still asleep except for a few" The culprit entered the room with her companion. The people who were in the room were only Ren, Yoh, and Anna.

"Why'd you bring her along?" Ren aked Lyserg

"To make sure you control yourself, I doubt Yoh here would be able to do anything" Anna pointed to Yoh, who was supposed to be a mediator…but he was too sleepy to mediate so they had to get another one.

"What is this all about?" Horohoro asked, this time the atmosphere in the room was tense.

"I have found the real culprit after looking for a few clues" Lyserg pointed out. "Yes, the culprit is none other than you…Pirika…"

"Wh…what?" Pirika stuttered and shook while meeting the eyes of the people inside the room. "But why me? I told the truth when you asked me those questions yesterday"

"…Which is why I would like to apologize to everyone, I was not able to ask efficient questions to see who the culprit was…I wasn't even trying. But after detecting the large amount of stress from you Pirika, you had become another suspect."

"Is that true Pirika? Did you take the jar?" Horohoro was now concerned. He wasn't going to allow his sister to be bullied if she wasn't the true culprit because he knew how it felt like.

"Please allow me to explain the story before asking you one question" Lyserg closed his eyes for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts for his final presentation. "Pirika didn't have any intention or whatsoever when it came to your gummy worms Ren. It was all just an accident…" all the people except for Pirika gasped in shock after hearing what Lyserg said. "When I was looking into the cupboard, I noticed something…First was the dust marks in the cupboard…it means the Ren placed his jar almost at the edge of the cupboard. It can fall anytime if there should be a slight push coming from the left or right.

The next thing that I noticed was a red broom bristle in the cupboard, and when I check the one single broom with red bristles for finger prints, it was hers that matched. By the way, I'll tell you guys some other time as to where I got your individual fingerprints. I also saw a small hole inside the cupboard, big enough only for an insect to crawl into. The last thing that I found was a small dent in the floor…and in it were very tiny glass shards, those that can only be seen with a magnifying glass.

So this is the conclusion that I have come up with: Horohoro was sleeping over he explained yesterday, so he did not notice what had happened that night. Pirika was on about to go on her way home, but she decided to stay behind for a few more minutes just to get a bite to eat. When she looked inside the cupboard where Ren put his jar, she probably saw a roach. So she took the nearest broom and tried to kill it, but she accidentally knocked the jar over, causing it to fall and break. It was a good thing she was out of the way or else she would've really gotten hurt. When it broke, she cleaned it up using the broom and threw it away in another person's garbage.

So the next morning, the brought a new jar of gummy worms before anyone else would wake up. Pirika hid the gummy worms beside the bushes near the door in order to check if the coast is clear. What she did not expect however, was that the twins were awake. It would've seemed suspicious to Hao if she had declined Yoh's invitation, because Hao knows that she would not decline free Starbox. That and she had no purpose in visiting the house at 7 in the morning. She knew that the jar would be safe if it was hidden in the bushes…but when she got home with the two, Ren had already found out. You couldn't just casually put it back in not with everyone alert and tense because they would find out that it was you. And you also would've told Ren the truth if he had not been so angry at people for eating taking his gummy worms"

Lyserg has explained the whole story and everyone was surprised…then Lyserg finally asked the question. "Was the story that I told the truth?"

Pirika's eyes started forming tears while she was looking down...away from the rest of them. "Yes, I broke the jar…" everyone was speechless, Ren's anger has subsided much to Anna's relief. "I couldn't tell the truth because I saw how angry you were at those who you accused. I promised myself that I would've told you when we were both alone…but I heard you talking to yourself and saying that you're disappointed for the person who couldn't tell you the truth…and that you would make that person pay dearly…"

Pirika then started crying…Horohoro tried to calm her sister down but failed. He then looked at Ren and glared at him "What kind of jerk are you…All for those stupid gummy worms?! I could've brought you more than one if you wanted…why'd you have to make it such an issue?"

Lyserg, Anna, and the now awake Yoh could not say anything else at this awkward moment, while Ren's eyes stayed hidden underneath his bangs. He realized that he had too much pride to let this thing slip, which is why he got angry and carried away. He let his own feelings get the better of him and did not allow himself to forgive dishonesty, even if there was a possibility that they did not mean it. He then walked towards the crying girl and knelt beside her "It alright…" he put his hand on top of her forehead.

"Wh…what?" Pirika looked up to Ren and tried to wipe away the tears from her swollen eyes.

"I said it's alright…I'm not mad…and I…I…s..s…so…so…" Horohoro had to pat his back hard enough for him to spit out the remaining letters "…ssOrry. Hey that hurt baka!" Ren glared at Horohoro shortly before going back to Pirika. "I shouldn't have gotten mad over something like this…it's just that…urrghh…no, I'm sorry ok, that's all…I don't have any excuse for this…"

Pirika looked at the sincere Tao and she finally smiled after shedding one last tear. She patted his shoulder and smiled, "It's alright Ren, and…I'm sorry too…for breaking your jar of gummy worms and for not telling you the truth"

The case was over and the tension was gone, everyone in the room was glad that this was done, and Ren had promised Pirika that he will tell the rest of the guys and that he'll try to take most of the blame.

Later that morning…

"I'm glad this stupid ordeal is over" Hao sipped from his cup of coffee. "But this all could've been avoided if you just brought a new jar"

"I know, I know! So zip it fancy pants!" Ren drank the rest of his milk and slammed it at the table. Everything was back to the way it was in the onsen as always. Pirika then made her entrance to the kitchen and put down the jar on the table. "…"

"Here you go! One jar of gummy worms" Pirika had just retrieved the jar from the bush she hid outside, and everyone was seated at the large rectangular table staring at it.

"Uh Pirika…those are not the gummy worms" Chocolove pointed out as a matter of fact. "They're gummy snakes…"

"WHHAATTTT?" Pirika took a closer look at the labeless jar in disbelief.

"Uh Pirika…" Yoh sweatdropped at the girl. "Gummy worms are sweet and kinda transparent…gummy snakes are sour with a bit of sugar coating…"

"I spent a lot for that!! Now I have to return it to the store and get a new one! I'd be lucky if they even accept this back!"

"Speaking of pay, Ren…" Lyserg interrupted and took out a piece of paper for Ren to read.

"W…W…WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?" it seemed like a lot of people like to stutter nowadays as Ren read the bill for Lyserg's services. "Look at all the zeroes in this bill!!"

"That's the minimum wage payment for my services…it only has a lot of zeroes because it's in Japanese Yen, would you like me to convert it into euro or dollars?"

A black rain cloud suddenly appeared and it started raining on Ren's head as he slowly limped away from the dining room while saying something like… "I should've brought a new jar of gummy worms instead of hiring him…and this is the thanks I get for letting him ride on my private jet…"

"Hey Lyserg…you mind taking on another case?" Hao asked, "Find out what's up with Ren and his addiction to Gummy Worms?"

"That's gonna cost you extra…" Lyserg stated nonchalantly…

"Just put it on Ren's tab…I'm sure he won't mind"

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"Hao was the one who put it in my tab?" Ren yelled. "I thought Lyserg just increased the fee because I complained after forcing him to fly halfway across the world?!"

"You know…" Horohoro laughed at the last picture of the page, "It could all have been avoided if you just followed everyone's advice and brought a new jar"

"Well…even Ren has his moments of stupidity…" Chocolove was the one who had the last word, but he was also the one who got the last punch.

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Thanks for reading guys! Please review and comment! And now…for the moment you've been waiting for (or not)! The Ask the Characters section! Where the reviewers get a chance to ask the characters of SK a question! I don't know if it's against the rules or not, but until I find out (**or until someone warns me…guys, please warn me if it really is against the rules because I don't want my account/story to get deleted**), I'm gonna continue doing it. For those who asked me questions during my two year absence, they're all right here. For those whose questions didn't get included, just let me know and I'll include them. And now without further ado….

Ask The Characters

From: Lady-Anaia  
To: Hao-kun,  
Q: What is with everyone's obsession with your pants? And two, do you think you would make a good couple with Jun? (If Ren didn't Kill you first).

_Hao_: It's natural for everyone to get obsessed with my pants; come on...I'm the only guy in the world who wears pants with stars and all sorts of stuff on them.

* * *

From: Andrea Nefisto

To Hao-'sama':  
Q: WHA-? ESCUSE MOI? Another Rabid Fangirl? God, Hao, please! Get out from you cloud! You may be the most sexy guy from all the time, but please, how can I respect someone WHO blackmail others? And even made it wrong? MWAHAHAHAHAHA! YEAH! I HAVE TO ADMIT IT! I ENJOY WHEN YOU SUFFER THE WAY! You have to accept it, you can be so funny at times, MWA HA HA HA. Oh yes, the thing about your anme is true, well, I read that it meant 'King of leaves' But leaves- Marihuana, You get it! Yoh would be happy!

_Hao_: That is probably the reason why my followers respect me, because I'm a good blackmailer! Hahaha! The ladies love the bad guy you know! And my how cruel you are…you enjoy other people's suffering. Quite interesting…

To Horo:  
Q: Yeay, I accept it, I think you can be really cute, but for my Holy Mother of Food! How many stomachs do you have?

_Horohoro_: My sister says I have two, Ryu says I have three, Ren says I have four, but Yoh said that I have one stomach with a black hole in it. So I really don't know who's right...maybe I'll go with Yoh...I mean...my body's not that big is it?

To Lyserg:  
Q: Don't you get it? I mean, you could have been raped by Ryu! That's what I mean! There's nothing to do with you, always so good minded.

_Lyserg:_ Oh wow, I never thought of it that way. Wait a sec, how can a guy rape a guy? Ugh, I don't even want to think about it!

To: Hao-sama  
Q: Since in the manga (ahem this might be a slight spoiler) you became shaman king in other words you became sorta in a sense good. What are your plans? I mean besides the whole get rid of the humans thing what else would you do since the manga was left undone. oh and eheheheh I never knew you would dress up like a princess... purinsesa hao... but you look very pretty as a girl! Compliments to your great sense of fashion!

_Hao_: The only thing on my mind as a shaman king is a humanless world! Hahaha! Hmm…there's still a lot of time to decide what I can do as a shaman king, but for now…come what may…By the way, that princess thing…NOT MY FANTASY!!

* * *

From: Exploded Toilet Bowl

To Ren:  
Q: O...that means you're going to go for Pirika? How sweet! Go Ren!

_Ren_: D…Don't be…I mean…mayb…wait…I think that's a ye…arghhh! What am I saying? Y…You get the point, let leave it at that!

To Hao:  
Q: Hao, I need to know how you made your pants and those LEGO SHOES AND GLOVES OF DOOM! –grins

_Hao:_ You can actually hire a cosplayer to do that you know…however…it'll just look weird if you wear them. When I wear them though…I look great

* * *

From: shaman-duelist ()  
To Opacho:  
Q: Are you a girl or a boy?

_Opacho:_ Me? I'm a girl of course. It's natural for people to get confused with my gender since, well…I look like me. Right Hao-sama?  
_Hao:_ You're a girl? I thought you were a boy!  
_Opacho _(falls down anime style and cries waterfalls): What? Hao-sama!

_Ren:_ Grrr! Where's shaman-duelist? I have a bone to pick with and out of him! Wait till I find you! I'm going to poke you to death with my Kwan Doe and my hair for ranting me and Pirika out to Horohoro! (Runs out of the scene)

_Opacho:_ Master Hao? What was that all about?  
_Hao:_ I have no idea…

* * *

From: Callista Miralni

To:Yoh Asakura  
Q: How do you feel about Anna? Do you still think your engagement is the worst thing that happened to you? Do you like having Anna around?  
_Yoh_: Anna? She's okay once you get to know her and get used to her, hehehe. About the engagement thing, I'm guess I'm more that okay with it, I have a feeling that Anna and I will get along pretty well.

To: Anna Kyoyama  
Q: How do you feel about Yoh? Are you pretty acceptant to your engagement? Do you like having Yoh around?  
_Anna:_ I love Yoh, I accept the engagement, and I like having him around  
_Yoh:_ Aw come on Anna, you can answer more than that!  
_Anna:_ Zip it Yoh! That's the way I answer…straight to the point.

* * *

From: mystic shamaness  
To Anna:  
Q: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?(sorry for the stupid question)  
_Anna:_ Probably an eagle. So that I can make sure that everyone is doing what they're supposed to do. That way, no one will slack of, unless they want a taste of my sharp talons!


	19. Changed

Hey guys! This is the second chapter that I've done for this year! Yey! Considering how very busy I am…I must really love doing this, hahaha!

Just can't help but write this fic. BTW, all important (if not, annoying) announcements will be at the bottom.

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Page 18: Changed

Kino observed from a distance the figure of a small girl sitting on top of a big rock which was located somewhere in the middle of the stream, meditating in order to gain more focus, her task was to summon a spirit with the new blue beads that she received from the old itako. It has only been three months since Kino took Anna under her wing and she is surprised with the girl's fast progress despite her age and her ability to see.

Kino soon sensed a spirit beside Anna, she has now successfully completed her first attempt to summon a water spirit. "Good, now come here." She simply nodded and jump from the previous rock to the next in a hurry to get out of the very cold weather. Unfortunately for Anna, her rush jumping caused her to go off balance.

She fell into the freezing water and screamed for help. The spirit which she summoned a little earlier used its powers to make the water carry Anna to the shore. Kino quickly pulled her out of the freezing water when she was near enough.

* * *

"You had me worried for a while back there" Kino took out the thermometer from Anna's mouth. "40 degrees Celsius. You're staying in bed until your fever goes down, then it's back to training."

"Yes sensei, achoo!" Anna shivered and tried to keep herself warm.

"Looks like we'll have to work on your endurance" Kino sighed heavily while hearing Anna's sneezes echo the room. "Try to get some sleep. You'd better be fine after two days" Kino stood up and started leaving the room. "Oh, and expect harder training when you're feeling better."

* * *

"Dad can't we rest? My feet are hurting!" Yoh was with Mikihisa that day and they were planning to visit Kino to see how Anna is doing.

"For the sixteenth time, no! We have to get there before it starts snowing; besides were almost there" Mikihisa answered his four year old son.

"That's what you told be awhile ago for the fifteenth time!"

"It's for confidence" Mikihisa said. "Now let's move, I can see the roof already."

* * *

Kino proceeded to the door after hearing somebody knock.

"Grandma! Hey there! How are you?" Yoh smiled happily and jumped up and down.

"Hush Yoh! There are some people who are sleeping!" Kino said. "Mikihisa, I didn't expect a visit from you. Why didn't you inform me?"

"I did inform you two days ago"

"Must've been busy"

"Uh, is this a bad time?"

"I'll explain everything, come with me" Kino felt her clothes being pulled by Yoh.

"I need to go to the bathroom!" Yoh said while tugging Kino's clothes harder.

"Alright! Alright!" Kino backed away from the hyper active kid. "Go straight down the main hall then turn left at the fourth corner, then climb up the stairs on the right side, go straight ahead and turn right at the next corner. Walk forward until you see a painting, then go to the left. It's the seventh door on the right side. You got that?"

"…huh?" both Yoh and Mikihisa said.

"Must I draw a map?" Kino asked.

"Uhhh, yes?"

"I was being sarcastic Yoh! Use your head for once!" Kino then led Mikihisa somewhere down the hall. Yoh was left all alone to figure it out for himself.

"Okay, let's see" Yoh scratched his head. "What did grandma say?" Yoh walked down the path and up the stairs while trying to recall what Kino said. "So after you climb up the stairs on the left side, turn right at the first corner and go straight ahead. Walk forward until you see a…wait a minute, there's no painting here." Yoh looked around for a painting, but found only a sculpture. "A painting is the same a sculpture 'cause both of them are art, I think. Anyway, then I go straight and find the second door on the right side."

Yoh turned the knob and opened the door. "Phew, finally. I am ready to explo…hey! What are you doing here?" Yoh said rather loudly and he immediately buttoned on his pants again.

"Will you keep it down! Achoo!" Yoh did not arrive at the bathroom, but instead arrived at a certain child's room. "Yoh?"

"Anna? What are you doing here in the bathroom?" Yoh was glad to see his friend again.

"This is my room! Do you see any toilets here? Achoo!" Anna sat up and glared at Yoh.

"Hey, are you sick?" Yoh closed the door to her room and took a step nearer.

"Duh, what does it look like?"

"Wow, you must be really sick" Yoh bent down to feel her forehead. "Even your temper is hot."

"Don't touch me!" Anna slapped away Yoh's hand. "Just what do you mean by 'even your temper is hot'?"

"You're acting kinda different today" Yoh tried to soothe his aching hand. How could a girl her age slap so hard anyway?

"What do you mean kinda different? What I am right now is what I am!"

"But you weren't that mean before. Maybe you've been hanging out with my grandma too much."

"First of all Yoh, when we met, I wasn't myself back then. Second, I haven't been 'hanging' with Kino sensei; in the morning, she tells me what to do, then the rest of the day, I do what she instructed me to do by myself. She watches me but never says a word when necessary."

"Anna? You're not Anna are you? She would never be like this at all!" Yoh said. "What happened to the Anna whom I met for the first time? You used to be really kind and you were always smiling. Come on Anna, don't you remember what happened?"

"The Anna that you knew before was not the real me! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Of course that was the real you back then, I know it!" Yoh insisted, but Anna had just about enough.

"That's it! Get out of my room! It's useless talking to somebody like you Yoh!" Anna yelled at the top of her lungs. "If you're here to annoy me, then leave!"

"But Anna…"

"OUT!" Anna yelled once more. "Get out before I really get angry!"

Yoh now became frightened. He slowly backed away from the sick child. Yoh opened the sliding door and stepped out.

"Yoh!" he turned around and saw Anna behind him. "We're not friends anymore, got that?" Anna roughly slammed the door close between her and Yoh, locking it afterwards.

"Anna?" Yoh tried opening and knocking on the door, but she was never coming out. Teary eyed, Yoh ran away really fast.

* * *

"I see" the conversation between Mikihisa and Kino has just ended. "We'll leave right away then."

Kino nodded, but the second they stood up, Yoh came barging into the room in a hurry. "Yoh?" This was the worst that Mikihisa and Kino could expect and it was too late to stop Yoh from seeing her.

"Bring her back…" Yoh said in a low voice. "Bring Anna back! I want the old Anna back!"

Kino and Mikihisa just bowed their heads. "Yoh, that is the old Anna"

"Why? She wasn't like that three months ago!" Yoh said in a louder voice. "Your lying, that isn't Anna!"

"Yoh, listen to me" Kino said. "I know she's different now, but believe me, that is the real her. Remember, she had amnesia when you met her. One month ago, she suddenly remembered everything that happened right before I found her. It was a very bad memory and I believe she's still recovering from the trauma of her childhood." Kino tried to explain.

"Then I'll find a way to help her recover! She's my friend and I can't let her have that kind of attitude! I don't understand it at all!" Yoh then ran out of the room.

"…" Kino couldn't think of anything to say to Yoh in this situation.

"Perhaps this really wasn't a good time" Mikihisa said. "Maybe we should leave now."

"Yes you must" Kino said. "It would be best if both of them didn't see each other for a while. I will tell them about their engagement when their old enough, preferably 3 years before the shaman tournament." Kino said. "Hopefully, they would forget this little accident."

"I think this little accident would be unforgettable for both of them" Mikihisa said as he picked up his hiking stick/staff. "We'd better get going then."

"I know a spell that will allow them to forget what has happened. I can only use it for emergencies, but with this situation…I have no other choice but to use it on Yoh and Tamao and Anna so that will forget that they met…" Kino said quietly to herself. "This memory will be a hindrance for their training"

* * *

Mikihisa found Yoh sitting on the bench under an oak tree. "Come on Yoh, we're going home."

"Huh? I thought we were here to stay for three days" Yoh asked.

"There has been a change of plan Yoh" Mikihisa answered. "We have to leave immediately."

"Okay dad…" Yoh jumped off the bench and followed his father. He looked back and saw Anna looking at him from the window. 'Even if you say that I'm not your friend anymore, I'll still think of you as my friend. When I come back, I will help you, I promise.' Yoh smiled in response to Anna's glare. He then looked forward and exited the temple with Mikihisa. He never knew that he won't be seeing her for a very long time.

Upon seeing Yoh's smile, Anna slammed her window shut and returned to her futon. She then spotted a red bandana hanging in her half open closet, the one that Yoh gave to her as a gift. "Friends? I have no friends and I don't need them." Anna closed her closet door and dug under the covers. "After all…I'm a cursed child…everyone thinks so…because I can hear them thinking…" Anna popped her head from the covers and looked at the closet. "But…when I looked in to Yoh's mind, he didn't think that I was a demon, he thought of me as a friend." She shook her head side ways and rested her head on the pillow. "What am I saying? I said it once and I'll say it again, I don't need friends…"

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Okay, so if you guys were wondering why the story didn't shift back to the present scene, it's because it means that nobody said a word and they just turned the next page. Some chapters are really going to be like that where I purposely left out the character side comments part.

If you guys noticed, this page is kinda angsty, don't you think? Oh, and it was short too

Sorry guys, but there's no "Ask The Characters" section in here, because it has been so long since I've written a story that I forgot what the questions were already. So if it's fine with you guys, can you just send me your questions again? Oh, and BTW, I won't be posting the name of the reviewer anymore because of the rules, so you guys know what questions you asked. If ever you want to know who asked the question, just look at the reviews section.

I'm having thoughts already that this fic should end somewhere around chapter 30 or earlier because it might be too long. I'm also ending this early because unfortunately, I'm starting to lose one shot ideas and I don't want to make my readers wait for something that isn't coming for a long time. I really felt guilty that I haven't continued this story for 2 years (including my "Night of Halloween" story), so the least I could do is not keep the readers hanging.

But this won't be the end of my writing career. I have a new shaman king fic on the works and it'll be uploaded soon. I'm actually half done with the story, but I will only upload it once I complete the story so as not to keep anyone hanging.

Well, I guess that's it; once again…I'm glad to be back.


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